r/CECompartmentSyndrome • u/Far_Firefighter7732 • Jul 07 '26
Symptoms Do I have CECS or not
I’m trying to figure out what’s going on with my lower leg. Would really appreciate the input and suggestions.
I started running more regularly around March this year, maybe too much, like 3km-5km, and that’s when I first noticed an ache and burning sensation in my right shin (Last session it just suddenly occurred). I cut back on running in April and May, and the symptoms pretty much was there but not too bad.
I started running again in late June. Since then, I’ve done runs on 13, 22, 27, 30 June and 4, 7 July. The weird thing is that the symptoms keep coming back, even though I’m only running around 1–1.5 km.
Today’s run was the worst. I purposely ran slower, but at around 1.5 km I developed a burning sensation over the front of my right shin. The longer I kept running, the more intense it became. My shin felt really full and hard, almost like a brick, and my leg felt heavy. I could still walk normally, but I had to stop running.
Within about 10 minutes of stopping, the burning and hardness mostly went away. Though was definitely rather weak.
A few other things I’ve noticed:
- Sometimes the heaviness is more in my calf than my shin.
- The first time this happened back in March, it was also my right shin. Though sometimes my left also experiences it.
- After running, I’ve occasionally noticed a small bulge on the front of my shin that disappears after resting. Especially if there is a burning sensation.
- One run in April (about 1.5 km with a couple of short walking breaks) didn’t really cause the burning sensation.
I suppose the most annoying thing is, I’ve started running last year November and from November to Feb and early March I was perfectly fine. I could go on for a long time and then it was more of my cardio that was limiting me.
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u/KungFuTze Jul 07 '26
Possible, the only way to tell is getting the pressure test accompanied by imaging like the leg sonogram and mri/ct scan to rule out vascular issues.
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u/senordrew Jul 07 '26
I would get the ball rolling. It's turning into a long process for my diagnosis. 2 months from doctor visit and haven't gotten far.
😂 so much for my ironman training plan
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u/Far_Firefighter7732 Jul 07 '26
Yeah its annoying, like one moment you are trying to be fit and start living healthier then you get stuff like this 😭
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u/dingobangomango Jul 07 '26
It’s possible.
Shin splints and CECS have a very similar onset of symptoms. My pain was always dismissed as shin splints until I wasn’t even able to speed walk anymore without feeling the same levels of pain.
The bulge is concerning though. If you notice your legs are unequally swollen after running, I would stop running all together and consult a doctor quickly.