The measurement of dynamic compartment pressure during exercise.

Anterior tibial compartment pressures have been examined during exercise in nine healthy university students. Six male and three female subjects weighing 140 to 160 pounds and between 18 and 25 years of age were tested. A slit catheter was introduced into the muscle belly of the subjects' right anterior tibial compartment and dynamic compartment pressures measured using an F.M. telemetry system. Subjects were exercised on a treadmill at speeds from 1 to 6 mph and the variations in compartment pressure during one exercise cycle (one stride length) and over the course of the exercise period examined. Results have shown that both average and peak to peak pressures measured during exercise are much higher than those recorded at rest, and compartment pressures rose with increasing speed.