Acute Paraspinal Compartment Syndrome After Deadlifting: A Case Report.

CASE: A 27-year-old African man was admitted with acute right-sided loin pain that had started 4 hours after deadlifting. Renal colic was suspected, but clinical and radiological examination revealed no pathology of the urinary system. Further investigation revealed rhabdomyolysis. The back pain worsened with flexion, and both loins were hard on palpation 24 hours later. High intracompartmental pressures confirmed acute paraspinal compartment syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: We performed fasciotomy of the back muscles 28 hours after the onset of pain. Eighteen months after surgery, the patient no longer performed deadlifts but returned to pain-free exercise.