Gettin Sliced...
So, as I mentioned a couple of posts before, my shins have been bothering me quite a bit this summer. It started when we were skiing in Bend but I didn't think too much of it because my calves/ankles get tight every fall when transitioning onto snow anyways, so I figured it was part of that. I didn't really pay much attention to them until we came back to Canmore and I realized that they were hurting while I was running and hiking, too. A couple weeks later I was told I had compartment syndrome.
Compartment Syndrome is when the sheaths (thin layer that individually surrounds the muscle groups) in your shins get too tight for the muscle development and it ends up trapping all the blood/fluids inside, building up a lot of pressure. And it hurts real bad. I started seeing physios and masseuses and cutting back on skating and running (those were the two worst activities for my shins) in hopes of getting them better. But after taking a full month and a half off skating and running without seeing much improvement, my coaches and I decided to go forth with surgery. So far, surgery is the only proven way of dealing with compartment syndrome and what they do is open up the sheath from top to bottom to release the pressure.
The first step was to get a pressure test. This is when they stick a big needle in your shin after you flex/point your foot for a minute or two or until it's really, really painful. To 'qualify' for the surgery you need to have a pressure of at least 30 -- a normal person would have a pressure of 0 -- and I got a high score of 125! He said I was in the top ten percentile that he's every seen. He kept the needle in my leg for 4 minutes to measure how much the pressure goes down every minute, by the end I was only down to 59. One week later I was able to get into see Doc. Heard, in Banff, for a consultation and he and his staff were amazing to me and worked really hard to get me in as soon as possible so that I would have a better shot at being ready to go for race season. With some juggling around and squeezing in, they said I could come back in 9 days for surgery to slice open my anterior and lateral compartments. Wowee!
So on Oct. 9th I got dropped off at the hospital, waited around for a while, scrubbed my legs down, got into a gown, got into bed, had a failed attempt of putting an IV in my hand, 'fainted hard' (as the nurse said) and thought I was going to die for a second, got oxygen tubes put up my nose then fell asleep. A couple hours later I was woken up to walk down the hall to the operating room which, to me, looked like a movie set. One of the doctors rattled off the minor complications that can occur, one being them chipping my teeth. I thought this one was weird since they would be working on my legs...why would they chip my teeth? Turns out they were going to put a tube down my throat while I was out. One of them put an IV in my arm and the last thing I remember saying was, "Please don't chip my teeth, I like them how they are now..." ..But, who cares about my shins...right??
The surgery went well. I stayed in the hospital for two nights and had some awesome visitors. Then I stayed on Em Nish's couch for 4 nights because no one was home at my place. She took good care of me; making me breakfasts, lunches and dinners, changing my ice, helping me figure out how to shower, etc. She went through the same thing a few years ago so she knew what was up. Plus my teammates are awesome; I got so many baked goods and surprises :) After 4 nights at Em's, I went back to Chandra's place because my roomies were back and they could look after me. So I set my stuff up on and around Chandra's awesome couch and took up most of the living room but no one was complaining. I stayed there for another 6 nights before flying home! I had to wait at least 10 days before flying to prevent blood clots.
It has been two weeks as of last night and I am starting to walk a bit more normal and sans les crutches! Unless I have to get somewhere fast that is, then the crutches are still essential.. I can now take off the strips that are covering the stitches and take normal, standing up showers! How exciting. I've been told that it's possible to be back jogging and skiing super easily after 4 weeks and I hope that will be the case for me, although I'm going to be super careful to not push anything. Tomorrow I am going to try some easy spinning in my living room and see how that goes! Here's a look at them now.
Compartment Syndrome is when the sheaths (thin layer that individually surrounds the muscle groups) in your shins get too tight for the muscle development and it ends up trapping all the blood/fluids inside, building up a lot of pressure. And it hurts real bad. I started seeing physios and masseuses and cutting back on skating and running (those were the two worst activities for my shins) in hopes of getting them better. But after taking a full month and a half off skating and running without seeing much improvement, my coaches and I decided to go forth with surgery. So far, surgery is the only proven way of dealing with compartment syndrome and what they do is open up the sheath from top to bottom to release the pressure.
The first step was to get a pressure test. This is when they stick a big needle in your shin after you flex/point your foot for a minute or two or until it's really, really painful. To 'qualify' for the surgery you need to have a pressure of at least 30 -- a normal person would have a pressure of 0 -- and I got a high score of 125! He said I was in the top ten percentile that he's every seen. He kept the needle in my leg for 4 minutes to measure how much the pressure goes down every minute, by the end I was only down to 59. One week later I was able to get into see Doc. Heard, in Banff, for a consultation and he and his staff were amazing to me and worked really hard to get me in as soon as possible so that I would have a better shot at being ready to go for race season. With some juggling around and squeezing in, they said I could come back in 9 days for surgery to slice open my anterior and lateral compartments. Wowee!
So on Oct. 9th I got dropped off at the hospital, waited around for a while, scrubbed my legs down, got into a gown, got into bed, had a failed attempt of putting an IV in my hand, 'fainted hard' (as the nurse said) and thought I was going to die for a second, got oxygen tubes put up my nose then fell asleep. A couple hours later I was woken up to walk down the hall to the operating room which, to me, looked like a movie set. One of the doctors rattled off the minor complications that can occur, one being them chipping my teeth. I thought this one was weird since they would be working on my legs...why would they chip my teeth? Turns out they were going to put a tube down my throat while I was out. One of them put an IV in my arm and the last thing I remember saying was, "Please don't chip my teeth, I like them how they are now..." ..But, who cares about my shins...right??
Last look, ever, of my uncut legs!
I've been wearing these great icing devices almost all day and have been sleeping with them on every night so far. If my legs are feeling hot and/or swollen, these babies will make them feel great in no time.
It has been two weeks as of last night and I am starting to walk a bit more normal and sans les crutches! Unless I have to get somewhere fast that is, then the crutches are still essential.. I can now take off the strips that are covering the stitches and take normal, standing up showers! How exciting. I've been told that it's possible to be back jogging and skiing super easily after 4 weeks and I hope that will be the case for me, although I'm going to be super careful to not push anything. Tomorrow I am going to try some easy spinning in my living room and see how that goes! Here's a look at them now.
They're real beauts, hey?
Thanks for checking in!
J
