A Day in the Life

So this was my life today:

Xavier had this event called Holi today. Apparently Holi is a Hindu spring festival of colors, so what does Xavier do?

....get students to throw water balloons and dry paint at each other, that's what!

As you can see, even the shirt underneath the white shirt got colored. And some may have even fallen down my shirt...oops. I even found some paint hiding in my ear. 

On a more depressing note, I'm 90% positive I have compartment syndrome. 

What is that, you may ask? 

Essentially, the casing around my calf muscles do not swell with the muscle when exercised, so my calves become extremely tight and painful when I exert too much pressure on them. Here is a more medical definition:

Compartment syndrome is a condition in which swelling and an increase in pressure within a limited space presses and compresses blood vessels, nerves, or tendons that run through the compartment. There are two types of compartment syndrome, acute compartment syndrome is treated with surgery (fasciotomy) and chronic compartment syndrome, which is treated with rest and modality to the affected limb. Symptoms of compartment syndrome include pain, change in sensation, change in color, paralysis, or numbness in the affected limb. (Source) 

Granted, this is a self diagnosis, but when I was going through therapy for my "shin splints in both legs" 3 years ago (thanks to playing ultimate frisbee freshman year in college), the doctor mentioned it could be compartment syndrome and then shrugged it off. Therapy didn't work on my shin splints, by the way. And I definitely experience the main symptom: pain when running for more than, oh, 3 minutes. 

My hunch was furthered when discussing running with my friend, a passionate runner. I was explaining how the tissue around my muscles do not swell with the muscle when exercised, and she immediately told me how she had that same problem, discovered she had compartment syndrome, and had to get surgery. Now that she has had the surgery, she feels like a totally new person. 

I'm at a loss on what to do. I don't want to stop running, since I really just started, and I have been accumulating running gear so I can become a better runner. No amount of stretching seems to help, so I've ordered a foam roller and am going to try some DIY deep muscle massage as well as icing my calves. Does anyone else have any suggestions on what to do? 

Much love,