Hi Michelle, the bad news is that Ledderhose eventually might affect walking. The good news is that there are some other therapies, besides surgery, that might help. The easiest to teest is walking itself. Some people report that they feel OK as long as they continue extensive walking, dancing, or exercising their feet. Other patients don't feel that effect or it's too painful for them. You might just give it a try and walk an hour per day or more. Wearing comfortable shoes also helps a lot.

For other therapies you might check http://www.dupuytren-online.info/ledderhose_therapies.html. Radiotherapy has helped several patients and reducing nodule size, growth rate, and pain. A few patients have tried cryotherapy. It also reduces the nodule size and the pain but causes pain during treatment. It's not a real cure but it obviously helps for some time and makes walking painless. I am personally not a friend of cortizone shots because cortizone can attack other tissue as well but it seems to soften nodules as well.

Last not least you might also check the Yahoo group Plantarfibromatosis where some patients discuss their Ledderhose disease.

Dont worry, just keep walking!

Wolfgang