Bilateral peroneal compartment syndrome after horse riding

A healthy 20-year-old woman developed acute ischemia of the lateral compartment of both calves shortly after a 30-minute horse ride. On one side, she developed compartment syndrome with resultant complete myonecrosis of the compartment, whereas on the other side, there was spontaneous resolution. To our knowledge, this is the first report of bilateral lateral compartment ischemia after horse riding. Atraumatic compartment syndrome is a rare entity and is often missed at initial presentation. We discuss aspects of her management together with a review of the literature. Late fasciotomy and exploration may be beneficial in decompressing the deep peroneal nerve in peroneal compartment syndrome. Awareness of atraumatic compartment syndrome is important in any case of limb pain and swelling.