Chronic exertional compartment syndrome of the forearm diagnosed in a wider spectrum of patients and not seldom with a history of the same diagnosis in the lower legs.

Purpose: To identify patient characteristics associated with forearm chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS) and to demonstrate the distribution of intramuscular pressure (IMP) values at 1 min postexercise in a cohort of patients with exercise-induced forearm pain. Methods: A consecutive series of 99 patients seeking orthopaedic consultation for chronic exertional forearm pain underwent IMP measurements between 2010 and 2023. The diagnosis of CECS was confirmed ( Results: There were significantly more male patients in the CECS group than in the group of patients where the diagnosis was ruled out. Furthermore, a significantly higher proportion of the CECS patients had been previously treated for CECS of the lower legs. The most common occupation was office worker (21%), followed by craftsperson (18%). The most common main physical activities were strength training (21%) and cycling (15%). The median (range) 1-min postexercise IMP values for patients with CECS were 34 (23-68) mmHg for the flexor compartment and 32 (25-67) mmHg for the extensor compartment. Conclusion: This study demonstrates a more general population of CECS patients compared to previous studies. Notably, more than a fifth of the CECS patients had previously been treated for CECS in the lower legs. Importantly, considering the 95% confidence interval for IMP values in patients without CECS, the most used IMP cutoff value for diagnosing CECS appears to be too high for the forearm compartments. Level of Evidence: Level II.