So, you’ve been increasing your activity – trying to get in shape, right? You’ve been jogging, dancing, jumping rope, etc and doing everything like you’re supposed to, except now you have a big pain in the foot!
The sesamoid bones are hard working bones and it’s no surprise that the area around the bone can become inflamed. Sesamoiditis is a common injury for runners and dancers because they push off on the ball of their foot so much, but we see a vast amount of people that are affected with it just because they have increased their activity level. (Can’t catch a break, can you?)
For all of you that love to self-diagnose, this could be a tough one to see from the outside. There are usually no physical bruises or redness on the surface, just an increase in pain that can progress from an uncomfortable feeling to an outright throbbing if activity is continued. Stand on your tip toes? Does that hurt? If you answered yes, let’s talk.
Here’s the bad news. You’ve got to treat the sesamoiditis – you can’t just ignore it and hope that it goes away.
Here’s the good news. It’s almost always non-invasive treatment!
There are home remedies such as:
- taking anti-inflammatories,
- icing the ball of the foot after activity,
- resting the affected foot,
- wearing flat shoes and
- also purchasing foot pads to soften the blow to the pads of your feet.
For more chronic sesamoiditis, there are options such as cortisone injections and custom orthotics that have increased padding in the pad of the foot. Some podiatrists are experimenting with Botox injections in the pad of the foot to increase the cushion.
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SESAMOIDITIS & NEUROMAS