A 24-year-old female presents to the ED complaining of intermittent severe pain in her lower legs. She states that this has been occurring since she started preparing for her first marathon last month. She notes that the pain seems to start in the calf area and spreads around to the front of her lower leg over time. She describes the pain as slow onset and leading up to the most excruciating pain she has ever felt, though she can’t exactly pinpoint where the pain is other than her lower leg. She has tried to push through the pain, but it eventually becomes too intense and she has to stop running. The pain does seem to improve after she stops and rests for a while, and it seems to be limited to her left leg. She also remembers that she gets a tingling, pinprick sensation in her foot. What is the likely problem the patient is suffering from?
a. She has sciatica (a painful inflammation of the sciatic nerve in the posterior leg).
b. She has multiple sclerosis which is causing the pinprick sensations.
c. She has compartment syndrome that is causing the pain.
d. She is unfit for the marathon and needs to eat healthier.