Can also do a post on weight loss and running improvement but then intend to do this for my break down of non-technique things any way:
I think that this is relevant to this blog for the reason that I am now low-carb and I am now running and I am doing both with this condition, for a lack of a better word, in remission.
Where to start my journey, I guess in 2009. I was, at age 22, then starting to play club badminton and using running as a way to increase my fitness as I really needed to lose weight. I remember running out on a trail and feeling a slight twinge in my foot. That put me off running for a bit but I went on with badminton. I honestly can’t say that the twinge was a fibroma as it could easily have been fasciitis. Nevertheless I spotted a lump and thought it was best to head to the doctors. At this point I will add that I was working on a PhD in Cancer Research so I had actively looked up as much as I could and done a self-diagnosis of plantar fibromatosis or Ledderhose disease.
The self-diagnosis was confirmed by the doctor who didn’t know anything about the condition and I think I can even remember them looking it up. My research had told me to avoid surgery and that physiotherapy and steroid injections are not really great options. Still my GP referred me to an NHS physio. I can’t actually remember how bad the pain was at that point other than I gave up playing badminton, a sport I love and I am now a fully qualified coach, so it must have been getting quite painful. The wait for the physio was so lengthy that my parents paid for me to see a private physio. The physio (with 30 years+) experience had only seen the condition once before and they couldn’t help and basically said they couldn’t help me, so I had to wait for the NHS physio to tell me the same thing to get me further down the chain.
At this point I was referred to see a foot specialist (read surgeon) on the NHS. They couldn’t really offer me great advice so sent me for a steroid injection. At the time I decided it was worth the risk, so I went for it. It was ultra-sound guided so they at least got some pictures of it and the injection was not that painful… to start with anyway. Once the local wore off I couldn’t walk properly for several days. Credit where it is due though the injection did help to calm the condition and I even went for the odd run (at the time I was only able to get around in running trainers with everything else not supportive enough).
About 6 to 9 months later it came back worse and another 6 months or so later I finally got back to see the specialist on the NHS. This appointment resulted in several different outcomes 1) Orthotics 2) MRI 3) Surgery being my only option. I was pretty unhappy at this point and my foot was deteriorating to the point I had to start using a walking stick at the age of 24 and eventually this led to me having to stop the PhD. The orthotics didn’t work, the MRI showed it was Ledderhose and surgery was not an option, although one I was starting to get temped by. My wife found out about radiotherapy and after researching we decided that this was easily the best option and looked into the choices. We decided that I was going to go and see Dr Richard Shaffer in Guildford.
I know it probably sounds dramatic but I still remember the morning that my Mum, Wife and I headed up to Guildford. At that point I was desperate for some hope and I knew that we would find the money somehow to get radiotherapy as it was only available privately. Dr Shaffer was very approachable, knowledgeable and checked my hands and feet for lumps and nodules. Luckily it was just the one nodule in the one foot and I was a good candidate for radiotherapy. I was ecstatic and couldn’t believe I could start in a couple of months’ time.
The process of radiotherapy is painless, quick and easy. The typical protocol is 5 days of 3gys each day, 8 (ish) week break and then another 5 days. After the first week I did get a sharp increase in pain and I really struggled. I spoke to Dr Shaffer and he assured me that this does happen in some patients but to expect to see some improvement by the start of the second week of radiotherapy. Sure enough by the second week of radiotherapy I was starting to see an improvement. The only side effects that I had were dry feet and that initial surge in pain. Gradually over the coming months my foot started to get better and I started to try and walk without the stick, by the end of the year (radiotherapy finished in July) I was able to put the stick away for good and had played a game of badminton.
In 2013 I didn’t use the stick and actually started running, this was sparked at least in some part due to the impending birth of my daughter and wanting to be able to run around with her. In fact within 6 months of not using the stick I was able to run 5k and I ran a 10k race (slowly) by the end of 2013. 2014 Was a very stressful year and not a lot really happened with my foot, there was still post exercise ache but the pain had mostly gone. My exercise levels did drop. I didn’t really have any additional side effects after the radiotherapy and to this day I am still amazed at how brilliant the results were. At the end of 2014 my weight, which initially ballooned while my foot left me incapacitated, was up to the best part of 19 stone, which was massively unhealthy. At this point my wife and I agreed that something needed to be done and so we started a low carbohydrate diet.
The diet is relevant to this condition as almost as soon as we started the diet the remaining aches and pains from my foot diminished and of course weight fell off. In fact I have now lost 6 ½ stone on this diet and it has had a huge impact on my running and health in general. Last year (2014) I had a really nasty chest infection that had me signed off work for 2 weeks and in part this was so bad because of my weight. This year I have had the odd cough or sore throat but it has not progressed past that, in fact I haven’t really been ill since starting the diet (touch wood). My 5k time has come down from around 33 minutes at the start of the year, and a PB set in 2013 of 29:29 to around 23 minutes. That is 10 minutes a time that is less than 70% of my time at the start of the year, this actually roughly correlates with the amount of weight that I have lost so if I get down to 5 stone I should be able to set world records….
Low carb diets have also been shown to have a potentially beneficial impact on tumours, something I am sure I will go into in time.
I think that Ledderhose disease is important for me for motivation. In terms of the diet the last real issue remaining from having the condition was the amount of weight that I was carrying and this is turned probably made the condition worse. In terms of running I feel that I have a point to prove, that patients that have had this condition and had it badly are able to get better and are able to do something amazing, well I certainly consider running a half marathon and hopefully in time a full one as something amazing. For many years this condition was something I was passionate about for both selfish and charitable reasons, now I am passionate about patient care and treatment. The treatment option I had is not widely available and hope is not something that I had an abundance of when I was at my lowest, hopefully my running and my progress can help others see that there can be a way through and you can even be better physically than you were before the condition start.
When I was in those really bad months I often used to dwell on the things I could no longer do rather than the positive things and the things that I could still do. Well not I have lost weight and I am running and these are thing that I can do and I want to make the most of it.
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