FOREFOOT RUNNING: THE CURE TO CHRONIC EXERTIONAL COMPARTMENT SYNDROME?

Eddie Traylor, Preston Brown & Taylor Marcum Langston University, Langston, Oklahoma Chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS) is a cause of leg pain that is frequently undiagnosed. CECS is caused when there is increased pressure within the fascial space. The common symptom associated with CECS is pain in the affected compartment during exertion or exercise. CECS most often occurs in elite athletes, military recruits, and adult recreational runners. Purpose: The purpose of this abstract is to inform the audience about chronic exertional compartment syndrome and the use of forefoot running in alleviating the symptoms associated with CECS. Methods: The literature review was conducted using CINHAL and PubMed research databases. Inclusion criteria for articles used included: articles that focused on forefoot running with compartment syndrome. Results: The results of the studies conducted indicated that upon conclusion of 6 weeks of forefoot technique training there was a decrease in intracompartmental pressure between pre and post intervention measures. Participants reported no symptoms when running 5km 6 weeks after forefoot strike running intervention. The participants reported pain levels less than 1 on a scale of 0-10. Discussion: Results show that forefoot strike running training is an effective conservative treatment for CECS and decreases intracompartmental pressure and that pain and disability often associated with CECS were reduced for participants for up to a year. Further tests and studies are needed to provide more information on this topic