Since her freshman year at Lehighton Area High School, Sarah Keer felt the pain in her shins.
Dealing with stress fractures in her legs, the forward continued to play, and the pressure continued to build.
In September 2013, after playing in six of the team’s first eight games as a freshman, Keer visited a team trainer and was later diagnosed with chronic exertional compartment syndrome in both of her legs—when excessive pressure builds up inside an enclosed space inside the body, often after vigorous exercise, according to the Mayo Clinic. It leads to serious tissue damage, with loss of body function and fatalities possible in some scenarios.