Anterior compartment syndromes arise when a muscle becomes too big for the sheath that surrounds it causing pain. The big muscle on the outside of the shin is called the tibialis anterior and is surrounded by a sheath.

What To Do About It?

If you have been experiencing symptoms of anterior compartment syndrome your first approach to treatment should be to stretch the anterior muscles of your shin. This can be done kneeling on the ground with your toes pointing behind you and the top surface of your foot flat on the ground. Then you can 'sit' down on your heels and lean your body backwards over your feet. You should feel the front of your shins stretching.

Massage is also a useful approach to treatment because if the muscles are chronically tight they will be more prone to swelling.

When chronic cases do not respond to conservative care, fasciotomy is the treatment of choice. This is a surgical procedure where an incision is made along the length of the affected compartment through the fascia to release the pressure. Properly execute surgery has a success rate of close to 90%2. Prior to surgery, a patient would have to meet certain diagnostic criteria whereby pressure measurements are taken at rest and during activity to insure that the procedure is warranted.