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CC BY 4.0 · Rev Bras Ortop (Sao Paulo) 2024; 59(05): e650-e656
DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1787766
Artigo de Atualização
Medicina do Esporte

Chronic Compartment Syndrome in Athletes

Article in several languages: português | English
Pedro Baches Jorge
1   Grupo de Trauma do Esporte, Departamento de Ortopedia e Traumatologia, Irmandade de Misericórdia da Santa Casa de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
2   Grupo de Medicina do Esporte, Departamento de Ortopedia e Traumatologia, Irmandade de Misericórdia da Santa Casa de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
,
Mariana Belaunde Toledo
1   Grupo de Trauma do Esporte, Departamento de Ortopedia e Traumatologia, Irmandade de Misericórdia da Santa Casa de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
,
Flora Chaves Mari
2   Grupo de Medicina do Esporte, Departamento de Ortopedia e Traumatologia, Irmandade de Misericórdia da Santa Casa de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
,
Rodrigo Ruas Floriano de Toledo
2   Grupo de Medicina do Esporte, Departamento de Ortopedia e Traumatologia, Irmandade de Misericórdia da Santa Casa de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
,
Marcos Vaz de Lima
1   Grupo de Trauma do Esporte, Departamento de Ortopedia e Traumatologia, Irmandade de Misericórdia da Santa Casa de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
2   Grupo de Medicina do Esporte, Departamento de Ortopedia e Traumatologia, Irmandade de Misericórdia da Santa Casa de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
,
Jan Willem Cerf Sprey 
1   Grupo de Trauma do Esporte, Departamento de Ortopedia e Traumatologia, Irmandade de Misericórdia da Santa Casa de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
2   Grupo de Medicina do Esporte, Departamento de Ortopedia e Traumatologia, Irmandade de Misericórdia da Santa Casa de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
› Author Affiliations Financial Support The authors declare that they have not received financial support from agencies in the public, private, or non-profit sectors to conduct the present study.
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Abstract

Chronic compartment syndrome (CCS) is a pressure increase within a non-expandable fibro-osseous space resulting from continuous and intense physical activity. Its symptoms usually improve with rest or reduced activity. It is a critical cause of lower limb pain in athletes and the second most common cause of effort-related leg pain. Less frequent reports include CCS in the lumbar paravertebral compartments, in the hand, the forearm, the thigh, and the foot. Although CCS mainly affects long-distance runners, it may also occur in sports such as lacrosse, football, basketball, skiing, and field hockey. Muscle tension, cramps, symptoms worsening with physical exercise, pain, and reduced sensitivity in the upper part of the foot are the main CCS findings, and diagnosis is essentially clinical. Even though controversial and with some limitations, CCS diagnosis has relied on measuring the intracompartmental pressure after exercise. However, new alternative tools are under study, particularly those less invasive, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after the exercise protocol. For years, open fasciotomy was the most relevant treatment for CCS in athletes, but new surgical techniques are gaining importance, such as minimally-invasive fasciotomy and endoscopic procedures. Some conservative therapies hold promise as potential alternatives for patients who do not want surgery, but robust evidence to support them remains lacking, especially for athletes.

Keywords

athletes - compartment syndromes - sports injuries - sports medicine


Publication History

Received: 14 August 2023

Accepted: 20 February 2024

Article published online:
15 July 2024

© 2024. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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