I posted this on another thread, but didn't get any response. I have had dupuytrens for 30 years and my Ledderhose just started 2.5 years ago.

An update on my feet. I had radiation on my ledderhose in 2011 and have had pain increasing since that time. At this time I am in a wheelchair at least part of the day. I can be up for an hour or two and if it is longer when I get off my feet the pain is intense. My pain is not as much in the nodules in my arches, but more an all over feeling of pain and mostly in the balls of my feet (where I have nodules also). There is also a feeling of an extreme thickening of the balls of my feet. When Dr Seegenschmiedt did the radiation he extended my zone up into the base of my toes because I had a place that felt like it could be a nodule there, even though he had never seen that before.

Do any of you have the feeling of the balls of your feet thickening? -I am trying to avoid pain meds as much as possible but the wheelchair isn't so hot either. I only wear quality footwear and my feet feel the best when bearfooted.


Update on my dupuytren:
I am also the one who had a sliver and an infection last year in the nodule on my hand. That was taken care of by surgery (there was no other option, due to the infection) The doctor did not remove all the dupuytren for fear of spreading the infection, but so far I have not had any complications or new nodules and am very pleased with the outcome. Thanks for your advice.

The pain in the ball of the foot could possibly be something different from Ledderhose.

I have a Ledderhose nodule in the arch of my foot that has been growing gradually. As a completely separate matter, almost a year ago I had pain in one of my heels when I placed weight on it, especially on a hard floor the first thing in the morning. There was no nodule in the heel -- the problem with the heel was Plantar Fasciitis, and it went away after a few months. In your case, the pain is in the ball of the foot and not the heel, so maybe it's not Plantar Fasciitis, but I would suggest visiting a podiatrist to ask.

A podiatrist might be able to help relieve pain while standing, regardless of the cause, by making a custom foam insert for your shoe. Just go to the appointment wearing the shoe you usually wear, and he/she will heat a slab of foam, press it against your foot, then trim it to fit your shoe.

Edited 08/28/13 19:50

Hi Penny
I wonder if you might be experiencing nerve pain in the balls of your feet, which I experienced as a crampy, throbbing, pulling or even stinging pain in the ball of the foot. I had a habit of stretching my feet by pulling the toes backwards and standing on the balls of my feet (e.g. during some exercises or certain yoga moves etc) and I eventually worked out that this was the major source of my problem. Much better to use a massage ball for relief.

Good luck.

Penny:

---

I posted this on another thread, but didn't get any response. I have had dupuytrens for 30 years and my Ledderhose just started 2.5 years ago.

An update on my feet. I had radiation on my ledderhose in 2011 and have had pain increasing since that time. At this time I am in a wheelchair at least part of the day. I can be up for an hour or two and if it is longer when I get off my feet the pain is intense. My pain is not as much in the nodules in my arches, but more an all over feeling of pain and mostly in the balls of my feet (where I have nodules also). There is also a feeling of an extreme thickening of the balls of my feet. When Dr Seegenschmiedt did the radiation he extended my zone up into the base of my toes because I had a place that felt like it could be a nodule there, even though he had never seen that before.

Do any of you have the feeling of the balls of your feet thickening? -I am trying to avoid pain meds as much as possible but the wheelchair isn't so hot either. I only wear quality footwear and my feet feel the best when bearfooted.


Update on my dupuytren:
I am also the one who had a sliver and an infection last year in the nodule on my hand. That was taken care of by surgery (there was no other option, due to the infection) The doctor did not remove all the dupuytren for fear of spreading the infection, but so far I have not had any complications or new nodules and am very pleased with the outcome. Thanks for your advice.

Thanks stephenp, My feet were not feeling as painful in recent weeks, but I was not on them as much. This last week was one of busyness, and again the pain is more intense. I went to an orthopedic doctor that my family doctor recommended, but he really didn’t have anything new to offer. He suggested a steroid shot but I don’t know whether to risk the possible side effects here is a quote from this forum--“A potential side effect of cortizone injections is that they can destroy fatty cells under the skin. This is not a major problem in the hand but in the feet where they serve as a cushion. The cortizone can also attack other cells in the hand/foot. Side effects generally become worse when steroids are applied frequently and long term. We therefore consider injection of steroids as a means to reduce acute pain, e.g. for Ledderhose, but not as a long term or permanent treatment.”.
I left the orthopedic doctor a printout from this link http://ledderhose.blogspot.co.uk/, haven’t received a reply on that from him but researching it here seems to point to no real solution-- “Combination of triamcinolone with hyaluronidase
Occasionally triamcinolone is injected together with the enzyme hyaluronidase, which can dissolve scar tissue. While in the Internet this combination is claimed to be very effective so far no results have been published in generally accepted scientific journals.” So for now I wait until I can absolutely not bear it any more…I am thinking this is the procedure I may try first when I am at that point.