Massage therapy · Kitchener–WaterlooCompartment Syndrome - Acute

Acute compartment syndrome most often occurs in the lower leg (AAOS, n.d.).

Warning signs of acute compartment syndrome include (AAOS, n.d.; NHS, 2026)

• Severe pain that is worse than you would expect from the injury, especially when the muscle is used or stretched
• Swelling, or a muscle that feels tight or full
• Tingling, burning, pins and needles, numbness or weakness (numbness and weakness are late signs)

If you have these signs, or sudden severe pain after an injury or under a tight bandage or cast, call 911 or go to the emergency room at your nearest hospital straight away. Loosen a tight bandage if you can, but if you have a cast, do not try to remove it yourself (AAOS, n.d.).

1. Emergency Surgery (Fasciotomy)

Acute compartment syndrome is a surgical emergency, and there is no effective non-surgical treatment (AAOS, n.d.). The pressure is relieved with an operation called a fasciotomy, in which the surgeon cuts open the skin and the fascia covering the affected compartment (AAOS, n.d.; NHS, 2026). Sometimes the wound cannot be closed straight away and is closed later, or a skin graft is used (AAOS, n.d.; NHS, 2026). Your surgical team will give you their own instructions for recovery, and you may need physiotherapy afterwards to regain full movement (NHS, 2026). Once you've been treated and your surgical team has cleared you, I can help with your recovery.

2. Releasing Casts and Bandages

Tight casts and bandages can cause compartment syndrome. If symptoms develop, loosen any tight bandage, but if you have a cast, do not try to remove it yourself: get emergency help (AAOS, n.d.). In hospital, doctors will split or remove tight casts and dressings, which can lower the pressure considerably, and then check the limb closely to decide whether surgery is needed (Via et al., 2015).