Key words: chronic exertional compartment syndrome, surgery, diagnosis, predictive model

"Anterior chronic exertional compartment syndrome of the leg: improving recognition and surgical treatment"

Some people have chronic pain in the lower leg, due to excessive muscle pressure (chronic tension-related compartment syndrome, CECS). The clinical picture is often not recognised, or only very late, due to the changing symptoms. As a result, many patients with CECS will exercise less, resulting in reduced vitality and a lower quality of life. In order to recognise CECS more quickly, a number of predictive factors have been identified in a large group of 1,500 people with lower leg complaints (young, male, mutual pain, never before complaints of the lower leg, pressure pain over the affected lower leg muscles). It also appears that a simple questionnaire can distinguish the older CECS patient from the patient with a shop window leg. This dissertation also shows that a new surgical instrument (FascioMax) can treat CECS safely and effectively.