St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle Lohse is set to undergo surgery on Friday after he was placed on the 15-day disabled list with exertional compartment syndrome.
Lohse was examined by Dr. Stephen Shin on Wednesday at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles.
Avid sports fans have come to learn many of the injuries athletes can surfer, but chances are most had never heard of the ailment Lohse is suffering from.
Exertional compartment syndrome is an uncommon, exercise-induced neuromuscular condition that causes pain and swelling in the legs or arms, and it can be difficult to identify.
But exertional compartment syndrome isn’t exactly a condition that has been recently discovered.
In 1997, an article appearing in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine discussed diagnostic methods used in identifying ECS.
In 2005, an article written by Dr. Delmas Bolin and Dr. Joe Prud’homme discussed in detail how ECS was becoming an increasing problem with track and field athletes.
According to Bolin and Prud’homme, “ECS develops as a result of pressure imbalances between blood flowing into the muscles and the pressure of the tissue that envelopes the muscles.
The muscle is surrounded by a tight tissue capsule called fascia. With exertion, blood flow to the muscle increases and the muscle swells. Even though fascia doesn’t stretch much, in most people it is large enough to accommodate the swelling.
Athletes, and especially endurance athletes, may develop enough swelling so that muscle arteries are squeezed enough to limit or interrupt the blood flow. The increased pressure inside the fascia may also compress nerves, resulting in numbness.”
As with any surgery, complications can result. Bolin and Prud’homme say that 10 percent of ECS surgeries performed risk permanent damage to the surrounding nerves.
Lohse said he experienced fatigue and cramping in his forearm in his last start, similar to what he’s been feeling since last season when he was struck in the arm by a pitch while batting.
