Sorry I didn't clarify which compartments were involved. Bilateral means both legs. As for compartments, I had all four compartments on both legs (anterior, posterior, lateral, and deep posterior). True, it is not necessary to have surgery for anterior CS, unless it doesn't respond to other types of treatment. I know some chiro docs can do wonders.
Because I had both legs affected, they had to do the surgeries separately. When I recovered from one enought to walk without pain, they did the other one. Unfortunately, even though I had a great surgeon, the surgery was not successful, so it had to be repeated a couple years later.
Even after the second round of surgeries, I was marginally better, but still in constant pain during my run. I could run, but only with massive doses of ibuprofen, and I couldn't run very far. Cross training, for the most part, did not hurt (of course, it depended on the sport; I could not do, for example, the revolving staircase). To some extent, I learned to live with the pain, but I couldn't do what I really wanted: run the marathon.
For sixteen years, I ran on megadoses of ibuprofen. I also tried deep, "crime-scene" massage, which was helpful for short periods of time; that is, it did not provide lasting relief. I also used the Stick (www.thestick.com) before EVERY run. The Stick is GREAT. I can't recommend it highly enough. I use the Sprinter stick, which is a very rigid stick, and it is ideal for dense tight calf muscles.
