Early-Stage Physical Therapy for a Patient With Proximal Tibial Fracture With Acute Compartment Syndrome and Neurovascular Deficits Managed With External Fixation Complicated by Chronic Osteomyelitis: A Case Report

Tibial fractures occur following low-energy and high-energy trauma resulting from indirect and direct impacts, respectively. High-velocity trauma like road traffic accidents usually results in open fractures of the tibia associated with acute compartment syndrome, posing a serious threat. Thus, this injury requires prompt operative management with fasciotomy followed by fixating the fracture with an external fixator to avoid infection. Despite all the efforts, sometimes this condition may lead to osteomyelitis of the tibia requiring further care. Meanwhile, the patient has to be kept immobilized for a longer duration of time, which allows further complications to occur. Therefore, structured physiotherapeutic management of patients postoperatively is of immense necessity to prevent complications associated with prolonged immobility and achieve an optimal level of functional independence, thereby facilitating the patient to come back to near-normal life as soon as possible. Our case report provides a structured early-stage postoperative physical therapy treatment protocol for a patient with a proximal tibial fracture with acute compartment syndrome and neurovascular deficit managed with Ilizarov fixation.