Lanie Jo Knight

Hi! My name is Lanie Jo Knight I am a junior cross country and track athlete at James Madison University. I recently about 5 months ago had compartment release surgery on my lateral and anterior compartments. I battled chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS) for the past year and a half and tried everything and finally decided to give the surgery a try. Throughout my first season at JMU I fell in love with and team and even deeper with the sport. I felt great and was excited for the next 4 years.
During my second semester, I started getting these weird feelings in my legs, but I really did not know that it wasn’t normal. I continued to give everything I have in the sport for myself and for my teammates. During the summer I continued to train hard but my symptoms counited to get worse but once again I thought it was from training hard. My first workout back in the fall of 2019 I couldn’t finish it and just remembering laying on the ground not being able to feel anything from my knees down. This is when I knew something was not right and I was so scared. I went to see our team doctor, and this was the first time I heard the words compartment syndrome. They weren’t sure of it they were just throwing potential things around. After a couple of weeks, I went to see a specialist and got the compartment tests done and sure enough, the numbers were proving all the tingling, pain, and numbness I had felt for the past year. The numbers were not extremely high but definitely showing so they wanted to do other tests before we came up with a plan to get me back out running. I went through many x-rays, MRIs, and other various tests in the months. All of those things came back normal and they finally said it was CECS. I was very relieved at this point to know this pain I had been feeling was real and not something I am making up. From this point, we decided to try Botox injections to help atrophy my muscles to cause less swelling. I had a very bad reaction to this within 48 hours I couldn’t move my feet, ankles, and toes. The only thing to help this was time. Did I keep replaying all the things in my head that were going wrong and wondering why me? But I am a firm believer in everything that happens for a reason. So, I kept pushing through all of the bad things and started focusing on how I still could be an asset to my team. I still came to practice every day with a smile on my face willing to help them in their worst moments and lift them up in their highest moments. This gave me the sense of normalcy I needed through all of this. After everything was functioning again, I was still having all the same pain again I tried physical therapy exercises shoe inserts, you name it I tried it. I was willing to do anything so I could run again. Everything was pretty much on hold and through virtual appointments because of COVID 19. I got really sick of having to deal with this pain, so I decided that I was going to keep running through all of the pain. I have grown up being taught you don’t quit because something hurts. You just have to believe. But ultimately, I started thinking about my life after running and that this wasn’t worth it not being able to walk later in life. So, I finally spoke up about my pain and this is when I went to another doctor and I was told if I want to run again competitively, I needed this surgery. The doctor told me that this wasn’t going to be easy having surgery on both legs and that this was a big deal. Having a major surgery in a pandemic is less than ideal but it was just something that added to my drive to come back stronger than when I stopped.

I am now running again and am pain-free and could not be happier! This is the best feeling because everything that I have been through is finally paying off, but it also reminds me to show gratitude towards the lessons God has taught me and the seeds he has planted through my life in the past year and a half.

I now have 4 scars that will remind me every day of what I have been through and things I have overcome. I have never felt stronger, dedicated, and driven than I do at this moment. I have grown and changed more in the past year than I could have ever thought. My scars remind me that life is too short to have a bad attuite when faced with adversity. Remember you are strong and never alone when you are going through things!