Today I went out to the NJ Sports Medicine and Performance Center in Gillette to see Dr Silberman. I found him online while googling Platelet Rich Plasma treatment. He is a runner, cyclist and triathlete so I thought maybe the third doctor I've seen could be the answer.
After explaining my symptoms he suggested that they test me for Compartment Syndrome. This is something that I always thought was a possibility, I had some symptoms but not all of them. Mainly, I was lacking the tingling and numbness symptoms. The test for compartment syndrome is not pleasant. I wasn't looking at the big needles that were being shoved into two areas of my lower leg but it felt like the leg's version of a root canal. They numb your leg in two places with deep injections of lidocaine and then put a large needle into the same areas to essentially make a hole in which they insert the testing mechanism. They then measure what seems to be the equivalent of blood pressure within the compartments (which are areas where fascia hold muscle and tissue in place).
After taking two measurements in each area they put you on a treadmill and try to get you to run until your symptoms surface. After running on as much as an 8% incline (which I've never done before) at speeds of 7 to 7.5 for 3 miles, my leg started to get a little tight. It was a weird feeling since the area was numb but I was about to drop dead anyway.
After the next series of tests the results were almost exactly the same, meaning a negative test. Running out of options, I made an appointment for Platelet Rich Plasma Treatment. This is a related procedure to what Kobe Bryant, Chris Canty, and various other athletes have experimented with. The testing and results have had mixed results but I'm willing to try anything.
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