Intermittent Massage as a Therapeutic Option for Compartment Syndrome after Embolectomy of the Lower Limbs.

A case study of a 54-year-old cardiac patient who was admitted to hospital with a complaint of sudden pain in the legs associated with oedema, paraesthesia, and coldness was reported by physicians at the Medical School in São José do Rio Preto, Brazil

The patient was diagnosed with arterial embolism (a blood clot blocks blood flow in an artery) of the lower limbs. The patient was submitted to bilateral embolectomy (surgical removal of emboli or clots that are blocking blood circulation). The patient evolved with a burning sensation, hypersensitivity in the right leg, swelling, and difficulty bending and stretching the sole of the foot and the knee. A physical examination detected oedema and increased tension in the anterior, lateral, and posterior compartments.

The physicians provided a treatment using intermittent massage of the leg to stimulate lymphatic and venous drainage. After a few minutes of stimulation, they observed a significant improvement in the pain and oedema. In 40 minutes, there was total reduction of the pain in the posterior and lateral compartments and improvement of over 50% in the anterior compartment. Following the treatment, the patient started to bend the knee without pain and bend the sole of the foot with slight pain. On the following day, the patient was walking around the hospital ward without difficulty.

The authors reported that intermittent massage is a therapeutic option in selected cases of compartment syndrome.