What is 'acute compartment syndrome'?

What is 'acute compartment syndrome'?

Gary Brazina (Sports Medicine Physician) gives expert video advice on: What is 'acute compartment syndrome'?; What is 'chronic compartment syndrome'?; What is 'tendinitis'? and more...

An acute compartment syndrome is a very serious medical problem, generally requiring medical emergency. The most common compartment that we see is in the leg or in the arm, but any of this closer compartment will have it. The compartment syndrome means that there is swelling within these closed compartments. The compartments are made of fascia, which is a thick fiber tissue on the outside, and muscle, blood vessels and nerves inside. When there is trauma, for example a fracture or crush injury, there is swelling in these closed compartments and as the swelling continues, it continues to swell where there is no room for the swelling to go out of the closed fiber compartment. As this happens, the nerves and arteries can be crushed and the muscle can even die. It is a very serious condition. The most common deficiency compartment syndromes are the forearm, muscles of the forearm, outside of the legs, and the lower leg which we called the interior compartment. For example, there are four compartments in the lower leg.