Got a diagnosis. "Compartment syndrome" "life-threatening" WTF

[TJE123]

I got a diagnosis for my legs at physical therapy that I have "compartment syndrome". Then I come home and look it up online and it says "life threatening and limb threatening".  This is freaking me out bad. Can anyone tell me something about it?

edit: ok it looks like there are two types and one, 'acute' is more of an emergency. still, this is going to be awful for my anxiety

[trainwreck]

Tghere are two types of this.  Acute and chronic.  If you are at a PT, you have chronic compartment syndrome.  Which while, painful is in no way life threatening.  Acute I suppose if left untreated could lead to tissue death and gangrene, so I suppose it could be life-threatening in that sense.  But acute is, for instance breaking a leg or arm and leaving it untreated.  With acute, you would not be at PT, you would be in an emergency room howling in pain. 

You will be fine. If it is your elbow, for some reason they call it elbow impingement
. I have had that and had it fixed with therapy alone. 

[TJE123]

Is it possible it is acute and they dont realize it?

[sixpack]

Is it possible it is acute and they dont realize it?

no.

[vardnas]

I got a diagnosis for my legs at physical therapy that I have "compartment syndrome". Then I come home and look it up online and it says "life threatening and limb threatening".  This is freaking me out bad. Can anyone tell me something about it?

edit: ok it looks like there are two types and one, 'acute' is more of an emergency. still, this is going to be awful for my anxiety

What did the physical therapist say when they diagnosed you? Did you ask for an explanation? Did they offer one? Can you talk to them about it? This is something I don't understand—you have a medical professional right in front of you and instead you choose to go home and google what it means? Don't you think they'd have told you if you were looking at a life-threatening situation? It was a different context, but when my dad was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, the fact that it was a life-ender was made pretty well known to us.

I agree with six—of course they'd realize it.

[TJE123]

I did ask them if it's serious and he kept insisting it's a common condition, but a part of me worried that I didn't tell them the symptoms correctly or that they missed it

[sixpack]

i sent you a pm explaining the difference.

believe me the two are exceedingly different situations

[trainwreck]

i sent you a pm explaining the difference.

believe me the two are exceedingly different situations

It kind of like the difference between a a sprain and a compound fracture, with the bone sticking out. 

[sixpack]

i sent you a pm explaining the difference.

believe me the two are exceedingly different situations

It kind of like the difference between a a sprain and a compound fracture, with the bone sticking out.