About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffThe pain and other symptoms associated with chronic exertional compartment syndrome may be characterized by:
- Aching, burning or cramping pain in the affected limb — usually the lower leg, but sometimes the thigh, upper arm, forearm or hand
- Tightness in the affected limb
- Numbness or tingling in the affected limb
- Weakness of the affected limb
- Foot drop, in severe cases, if nerves in your legs are affected
- Occasionally, swelling or bulging as a result of a muscle hernia
Pain due to chronic exertional compartment syndrome typically follows this pattern:
- Begins soon after you start exercising the affected limb
- Progressively worsens as long as you exercise
- Stops 15 to 30 minutes after the affected limb comes to rest
- Over time, may begin to persist longer after exercise, possibly lingering for a day or two
Taking a complete break from exercise may relieve your symptoms, but usually only temporarily. Once you take up running again, for instance, those familiar symptoms usually come back.
When to see a doctor
If you experience unusual pain, swelling, weakness, loss of sensation, or soreness related to exercise or sports activities, talk to your doctor because these symptoms may be associated with conditions that require emergency medical treatment. Don't try to exercise through the pain, as that may lead to permanent muscle or nerve damage — and jeopardize continued participation in your favorite sports.
Sometimes chronic exertional compartment syndrome is mistaken for shin splints. If you think you have shin splints but they don't get better with self-care, talk to your doctor.
- Chronic exertional compartment syndrome. In: Canale ST, et al. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 11th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/206761326-3/1016341470/1584/350.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-03329-9..50049-0--cesec4_2495. Accessed June 22, 2010.
- Choi L. Overuse injuries. In. DeLee JC, et al. DeLee and Drez's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3143-7..10014-4--s0210&displayedEid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3143-7..10014-4--s0290&uniq=206761326&isbn=978-1-4160-3143-7&sid=1016341470. Accessed June 22, 2010.
- Barr KP. Compartment syndrome. In: Frontera WR, et al. Essentials of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/206761326-3/1016341470/1678/61.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4007-1..50060-2--cesec8_953. Accessed June 22, 2010.
- Wilder RP, et al. Exertional compartment syndrome. Clinics in Sports Medicine. 2010;29:429.
- Sports injuries. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Sports_Injuries/default.asp. Accessed June 22, 2010.
- Compartment syndrome. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00204. Accessed June 22, 2010.
- Laskowski ER (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. July 8, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on