By Amby Burfoot

Compartment syndrome isn’t one of those running injuries you hear about every day. It’s not on anyone’s “Top 10” list. But some runners do fall victim to compartment syndrome (loosely, pain caused by excessive pressure within a group of muscles). And these runners have often been told they’ll have to have surgery to “release” the sheath around the muscles to reduce pain and pressure.
Now, there may be a new, nonsurgical alternative: Switch to forefoot running. A report in the American Journal of Sports Medicine describes what happened when doctors had 10 runners with chronic compartment syndrome switch to a forefoot-running pattern. All 10 got better. After six weeks, they were able to run more, with less pain.
For more on running and compartment syndrome, check out this Forum threadat runnersworld.com. (Gruesome photos alert!)