Abstract
Purpose: Chronic compartment syndrome of the forearm is considered to be exceptional but may be underestimated. Compartment syndrome of the upper limb is recognized but generally considered to be non-specific compared with acute Wolkmann syndrome. Chronic compartment syndrome, or “subacute compartment syndrome” is also well known but often associated with exertion of the lower limbs in athletes. The association of a compartment syndrome of the upper limb and a chronic compartment syndrome was just recently described since the first publication appears to be the paper by Tompkins in 1997. Scare reports have reported a few cases since then.
Material and methods: We report our personal experience with ten cases with a minimum follow-up of six months.
Results: Compared with the literature, the analysis of our series provides an explanation of the clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic features of chronic exercise syndromes of the forearm.
Discussion: A better awareness of this pathological condition will probably enable earlier and more surgical care of these athletes who are handicapped by these syndromes well known in the motocross world as “forearm tetany” or “armpump””.
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