There is nothing, NOTHING, more demoralizing as a runner than having an injury that will not heal, regardless of how many hours you put into sitting at the doctor’s office, researching treatments, and implementing those treatments flawlessly. I was a math major in college, and the most frustrating thing in the world is when things cannot be explained with logic and reason.
Logically, if you’re icing, resting, compressing, and eating a healthy, anti-inflammatory diet, there is absolutely no logical or reasonable explanation for why an injury is taking weeks, months, or even years longer than expected to heal. Doctors, who study science for years and are supposed to be experts in logic and reason, often just shrug their shoulders. There are often no alternative avenues, after you’ve exhausted all the logical and reasonable options. And that is bullshit.
I have been lucky with injuries, especially as someone who has been running for over 12 years straight. The only injury I ever had before 2015 was a stress fracture in my metatarsal, which healed quickly and painlessly after four weeks in a boot. I must be fucking superwoman, I had thought then. I heal so fast. Wolverine, but less hairy.
Yeah, sure. Everyone heals quickly when they’re 19 years old. It’s when you start creeping into your mid-20s that things get a little less easy peasy lemon squeezy.
My first post-fracture injury was a sesamoid injury, one of the most obscure injuries known to man. No one I talked to even knew what or where the sesamoid bones are (and neither did I). There seemed to not be a whole lot online detailing how to treat a sesamoid injury.
Basically: sesamoiditis is inflammation of the two tiny sesamoid bones that are in the ball of your foot, which act as part of the big toe joint. Having sesamoiditis means having pain whenever you step down on the ball of your foot, and it could also mean difficulty bending your big toe. For such tiny bones, they can definitely cause a lot of pain and a HECK of a lot of heartache. If you are reading this, you probably already know all about it, and are here for some answers, not really to hear me talk about myself.
Well too bad. Disclaimer: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. I am a data analyst, on a contract with the USA government, and I am a lazy one at that. I do not know anything beyond what my own experience with sesamoiditis taught me, so yes, this post is about me and my journey, and no, I cannot give you any medical advice when it comes to healing your own sesamoid issues. This is just about what worked for me, and I have been sesamoid-pain-free for almost two years now. And you can be too, I know you can.
How I first contracted this bullshit injury
When I was one year out of college, I moved from my home in blazing hot, conservative Arizona to Washington DC to start a life a little bit closer to family. It was a move from the suburbs to the big city, and I parked myself alongside my best friend from college in a dark, dank basement in the heart of the city.
The first few months were amazing. We were living it up: visiting a hip new restaurant every week, drinking wine together after work, and generally enjoying all the things that DC has to offer.
I should have known it was too good to be true.
In December, I went to my first meet-up of the DC Capital Striders, DC’s running group. It was a lovely 8 mile run from Dupont Circle and along the Potomac River, and I met some new running friends who I was excited to get to know better in the coming months. As I was walking home, I noticed a sharp pain in the ball of my left foot. I shrugged it off and went about my day, continuing to run over the next week, but by that weekend, I knew something was really wrong.
Turns out, you can’t wear flats or heels to work and walk several miles a day in them on the hard concrete sidewalks of DC without some sort of repercussions. You can’t refrain from stretching after runs because it’s boring and you really don’t feel like it. I was doing all of those things. Of course.
After a bunch of Internet research, I was pretty positive that it was sesamoiditis, the most mysterious injury on the interwebs, and my podiatrist quickly confirmed it, though he had no real idea of how to get me back on my feet, so to speak. And so launched my four-month-long journey of trying every treatment under the sun.
What I tried that did not work…at all
A boot.
Jesus have mercy. After wearing a gigantic, bulky boot all the way up to my knee for two teeny, tiny bones in the ball of my foot for an entire month, I realized that I had done absolutely nothing but atrophy my calf muscle and inflame the bone even more, if that is possible. I had gone from some pain when stepping down onto my foot to feeling as though I had a balloon full of pins and needles under my sole. Leave the boot to immobilization for bone breaks, because it did very little to help with my inflammation. I have heard similar grievances from other sesamoiditis sufferers with incompetent doctors.
Zero-drop shoes.
Okay, so it is not ENTIRELY true that these were completely unhelpful. After hearing some other peoples’ stories, I decided to invest in a pair of Altra Intuition 4 running shoes
All those benefits provided by the Altras were good for my feet. To this day, my feet are super wide from wearing these for a couple months and allowing my toes to stretch out. Our feet were not meant to fit into pointed-toe shoes. It’s unnatural. However, the shoes eventually led to my second injury, tendonitis in my ankle, due to their lack of support. If you do decide to try these shoes out, just be sure you’re maintaining your regular stride and strength training to avoid further injury.
Ultrasound treatments.
I got this done at the physical therapist office, which was basically just 20 minutes of an ultrasound wand getting rubbed all over the ball of my foot to help draw blood into the area and kickstart the body’s natural healing process. Though the treatments definitely felt good and I got some immediate relief from them, after about six sessions I had no real improvement in my overall injury. So that was probably a waste of copay money.
Heat.
Hot baths feel good, but they did nothing to help with the inflammation.
Indefinite rest.
I cannot stress enough that the last thing you want to do when you’re injured is lay on the couch like a lumpy potato. The veins that lead into the balls of your foot are really small, and when the area is inflamed, even smaller, which restricts blood flow to the bones. Blood flow is smart, it is kind, it is important. And there definitely will be absolutely no blood flow if you’re just sitting around.
I am not saying go for a run, or do anything that involves a lot of impact to the front of your foot. You definitely want to stay off of it as much as possible. However, there are definitely things you can do to keep the blood moving and keep you from gaining a bunch of pudge. No one wants pudge, least of all your swollen feet which have to bear all your weight.
What I tried that finally did work
Prescription anti-inflammatories and KT tape.
This was the single most helpful combination of treatments in getting my sesamoiditis to say sayonara. Seriously, nothing worked like a charm until this. It was incredible. After four months of sobbing and whining and Googling, this very simple solution fixed my feet.
My doctor prescribed me a prescription anti-inflammatory, which I took for two weeks. It was stronger than ibuprofen alone, and allowed me to take the pills for a shorter amount of time than had I been self-medicating with ibuprofen. I also discovered my truest love in KT tape
Here is the video that shows you how to apply the tape to the ball of your foot.
Foot massage and stretching.
After months of visiting the physical therapist, I basically looked at him bleary-eyed and told him I was losing hope. The ultrasound treatments weren’t a big help, and nothing I was doing was working. I needed help, I needed a reason to go on. Without saying a word, he seized my foot and began digging his hard, man knuckles into the arch, right underneath the sesamoids, sending me reeling in the most intense pain I’d ever had. Seriously, fucking ouch. Turns out, my muscle there was incredibly tight, and him breaking them down a bit really took some of the pressure off my sesamoids.
On a related note, I also discovered, during my many months of desperate research, that the calf muscle and the sesamoids are all connected through the same system in your lower leg. Stretching your calves, and foam rolling them to keep them loose, is a really good way to not only provide instant relief, but also fix your stride. Tight calves leads to a narrower range of motion while walking, which makes you apply more pressure to your big toe as you push off. Keeping your muscles loose is just good advice in general for preventing or healing injuries.
Biking and swimming.
As a follow-up to my don’t rest indefinitely advice, biking and swimming are the two best things for you during this difficult time. I put my heel in a stationary bike in the gym and biked like that for 45 minutes a day. It got the blood flowing, and the exercise made me feel better emotionally, which is always important for healing. Nothing like some good ole depression to make your body hurt everywhere.
Custom orthotics.
These did cost me about $200, but having a cut-out at the ball of the foot to allow the sesamoid bones to float, reducing the impact on them when walking, was helpful. If that is not in your budget, opt for PediFix Pedi-gel Dancer’s Pads
The takeaways
They say you learn the most from the most traumatic experiences. Not to be dramatic, but running injuries are the goddamn PITS. And yes, they can be traumatic, especially if you’re someone who is used to running every single day. Having the one thing you’re passionate about ripped away from you while you sit on the couch wasting away is horrifying, and I hope that this post can help at least one person who is currently struggling the way I did.
That being said, here is what four months with sesamoiditis taught me:
- ALWAYS see a sports medicine doctor, not a podiatrist who is used to dealing with older, non-athletes. My podiatrist basically told me that he was baffled by my lack of progress after two months, and made me resign myself to never running again. If Olympic athletes can fall, twist their knee in half, rip all the tissue inside the joint, and be back running in six months, I knew that there had to be a way to overcome this. You just have to find someone who cares almost as much as you do.
- Do not overcompensate. I was overcompensating for months, trying to keep the weight off the front of my foot, which contributed to injuring other parts of my foot and legs. It just isn’t worth it.
- On that same vein, you MUST work on strengthening your body while you are injured. Keep your calves strong, even if you aren’t running. Keep your hips strong and loose. Do squats and build your glutes. If you don’t commit to this, you will ultimately reinjure yourself in the near future (believe me. I did).
- Take healing seriously as well. This is a stubborn injury, and you have to commit 100% to getting better, both in your actions and in your thoughts, in order to overcome it.
- Do not take movement for granted ever again. I certainly have not. You won’t stay young forever, so you have to take care of yourself at all times to get the most out of your body as you can.
- Also don’t rush back into running. You need to reintroduce impact to your sesamoids very slowly to ensure that the injury doesn’t come back. Don’t put in a lot of hard work for nothing.
- Remember that your life will go on, regardless of the injury. Try not to dwell too much. If you’re taking your recovery seriously, the end of the injury will come eventually. Suck it up and try to find happiness outside of running temporarily. There’s a lot of great things out there in the world that you shouldn’t miss out on just because you’re sad about a tiny foot bone.
If you’re reading this and struggling with sesamoiditis, feel free to reach out to me personally with any questions and concerns you have about your own injury. I know it blows and my heart is with you. If you have overcome sesamoiditis already, share your experience below!
Thanks for sharing what worked and didn’t work for you. You even made me laugh! 🙂 I thought I’d tried everything, but I’ll try the KT tape + strong anti-inflammatory combo. Thanks again.
How are you? Do you have any recommendations for tennis/pickle ball sneakers with a wide toebox for a person with both sesamoiditis and flat feet in the USA? Thank you!
hi there, i wonder if you have high arch. if it’s zero drop, zero toe spring and valgus posts along with dancer pads should be super effective
Hi Robin! I know this was posted so long ago, but I’m so grateful to have this! I was just diagnosed last week with sesamoiditis and I’m feeling very nervous about this becoming something chronic or challenging to heal. I’m not sure if its a fracture, going to see if anything subsides before I get an MRI— what other advice would you have for someone who might be at the very beginning of this injury? ?
Get the MRI sooner than later.
Thank you to those who write this wonderful recent information blog.
Hi Robin, thank you for sharing your story/healing journey. I have dealt with sesamoiditis and big toe joint pain off and for a number of years as result of improperly fitting shoes, sports over-use and landing wrong when jumping off a bunk bed while barefoot. I have learned to manage it with stretching, thera-band exercises, self massage and ice. I experience a definite reduction in inflammation when I am consistent with my therapy regimen but thus far have not yet been able to get over the hump so to speak and experience full healing of the area. Some days/weeks I don’t notice it and then other times I will do an activity with a little too much intensity and the injury will flare up and be painful enflamed and at times debilitating, ie causing slight limp. I have not tried prescription anti-inflammatories or KT tape, but am strongly considering trying those two therapies. It has been a good while since I tried custom orthotic insert adjustments to take pressure off the area but am planning to implement that option as well. I am ready to be done with this nagging injury once and for all and be able to put it behind me and let it be a memory from my past. Your story is an encouragement to me that there is hope for healing.
Where and what does this pain exactly feel like?
Hi Joe! How are you doing now? 🙂
After reading your article Robin, I feel less alone. I am on my last week of being in a walking boot thanks to sesasmoiditis. I was actually researching if I screwed it up even more by walking on my heal in the house. I was suppose to be totally off my foot for 6 weeks. Nope – that didn’t happen. I didn’t have the upper body strength to use my crutches plus about killing myself with them in my home was not helpful. I did get a knee scooter which has been a huge help when I go out. I feel like the past 5 weeks has been for nothing. Not only have I gained weight from being inactive but the affected area still hurts! I cant afford the custom orthopedic inserts and I refuse to give up wearing flip flops and walking barefoot on the beach (I live in San Diego). According to my podiatrist, has been the root of my problem besides overuse from jogging and walking. Yet he doesn’t think the fact that my left ankle (the side with the problem) falls inward, causing my foot to put more weight on, of all places, my sesamoid bones! But what do I know?? I call phewy on him. I will definitely be trying the methods you suggested to heal this dang thing! Thanks again!!🤩
Nice to know others are going through a similar experience to mine
Thanks for your funny and relatable article. 🙂
I recovered from a sesamoid fracture and sesamoiditis. Healing happens eventually! It took me about 6 months to get back to walking normally. I am glad I did not follow my podiatrists advice to remove the sesamoid, which probably would have caused related problems with my gait.
The injury seemed to come from wearing minimalist shoes without breaking them in, and hiking for hours on rocky terrain.
The best thing I did for myself was rent a wheelchair for two months to completely off-load my feet. I found good information on Dr. Richard Blake’s podiatry blog. He has a Sesamoid Fracture Office Handout. It’s a little bit of information overload at first. I ended up using a few methods and sticking with them.
Contrast bathing, acupuncture. Custom orthotics in Hoka rocker shoes. Keeping fit, healthy, positive.
You will heal eventually, and your capacity for patience, agency over your own thoughts, and empathy for injured & mobility challenged people will increase mightily.
TL;DR- Barefoot/minimalistic running may be an option.
Thank you for taking your time and going into detail of sesamoiditis Robin, this advice is helpful. I’ve also had a similar experience. Right now I’m 18 and a 1 mile+ runner, and I was diagnosed with with a fractured sesamoid and a ligament tear in my ankle before my junior year of high school (due to overuse I think). The pain still hasn’t been relieved to this day, and even though I’m certainly no doctor (nor majoring in the medical field), I would like to share what didn’t work for me, and what I plan to do next (which I hope actually may work). So far, this is what I’ve done for treatment for my foot: 6 weeks in a boot, 6 months of physical therapy, 4 weeks of shockwave therapy, ice/heat application, STIM kits, KT Tape, temporary orthotics plus dancer pads, hoka shoes and new balance shoes (suggested for sesamoiditis), massaging, CUSTOM orthotics, carbon inserts, shoelace tying techniques, anti-flammatory meds, painkillers, and calcium supplements. None of these worked, and i think I’ve exhausted all of my noninvasive strategies (surgery, shots). Funnily enough, my fractured sesamoids actually repaired over time (source via CT and mri scans), yet I still have the pain. I’ve been to 2 podiatrists, and 2 orthopedic surgeons. They recommended the list I’ve already tried above… except for one thing. The one thing I’m going to try next is minimalistic running, or barefoot running (process takes months to adapt). I’m completely against surgery because honestly it daunts me of the unknown problems to come after the surgical process. I’ve only seen one blog say that barefoot running helps sesamoiditis, and none of my doctors recommended it. I believe this is because running barefoot actually hurts for people with sesamoiditis, so they immediately quit it and look for cushion and support. Again, I’m only a high school student, let alone a doctor, but I hope that barefoot running will cure my foot because it seems like it will help build the muscle in my feet again to how they are supposed to function. I also have a high arch, which I believe barefoot running helps with. Anyways I probably wrote too much here but I just wanted to share the option of barefoot running before the surgery option as well, because it may work for some people that have not seen this solution.
I had my lateral sesamoid bone removed in November 2021 because over a 2 year period, my stress fracture turned into 3 broken pieces! My incision took about 6 weeks to fully heal because I got an infection. I was partially weight bearing for about 8 weeks. I have been 100% weight bearing for over 6 weeks now and still have soreness and cannot fully bring my toe back in a lunge position for example. Also, my first be toes are still numb and my foot tends to swell. The paresthesia and poor circulation is likely due to the swelling but that’s been knows to be present for up to 12 months post surgery. I’m capable of working out if I modify things that are uncomfortable but I still use moist heat, ice, compression socks, and sports tape on a regular basis. Good luck to anyone dealing with this pesky injury!
How are you feeling now?? I’ve been dealing with this for 4 months and have tried almost everything
Hi! I’m so glad I came across your post! Thank you! People who haven’t had this injury don’t get how soul destroying it is…. It’s been six months since my symptoms began and after reading your article last week I’m now 5 days into a two week course of prescription anti inflammatories, taping my foot, and lots of calf & foot massages…
I wanted to ask you: after your two weeks of anti inflammatories, had all the pain gone? And how did you go about starting to use your foot normally again?
This has been super helpful !
Hi Robin, thanks so much for this post and for everyones comments- I feel like this is the first time I’ve found people who are going through a similar thing as me. I’ve 26, super active and my passion in life is dancing and hiking. I have not been able to do either of these things for the last 6 months… I can’t even bring my dog for a short walk without experiencing pain. I’ve been going in circles with no answers from physios, injury clinics, GP’s and an MRI that came back clear??? I now have an appointment with a sports injury clinic with an orthopaedic surgeon in January and in the mean time will try taping my foot like in the video, keep moving , enquire about getting some prescription anti inflammatories and remain hopeful. I have never cried so much as I have in the last few months and I’m starting counselling next week as I feel depressed and alone as no one had given me a clear diagnoses or understands what I’m going through. Thanks for helping. Ruth
I was diagnosed with this last week. A boot, Aleve and special insoles seem to be helping.
When it was really bad I could not bend my big toe up and a Sharp pain when I press on the ball of my foot. And forget about standing on tip toes.
Have you had any relief?
Wow finally some Information I can relate to and more importantly help me. 2 months and I feel like no hope. None. I cry so much and at a loss and feel hopeless. This this this helped me and giving me some hope. I am looking for a sports dr now and praying and now will get moving again and Monday going to physical therapy armed with my plan as I need this all now. Not later. Thank you for sharing as a daily walker this is pure hell sitting her deciding if I drink or not because getting up to pee means pain when walking. So thank you!!
Hi! Thank you all for sharing. It’s nice to know there are more people out there with this ‘rare’ ridiculously frustrating issue. Does anyone else have avascular necrosis causing their sesamoiditis? Running out of non-surgical options here after 2 years of trying just about everything.
Hi Robin,
I’ve recently been diagnosed with sesamoiditis and am wondering if you could please share which prescription anti-inflammatory you took for two weeks.
Thanks, Marcia
Wow thanks for making me feel like I’m not crazy. 5 months ago I stated having the pain in the ball of my foot. Then I started limping everywhere until I got an X-ray and the doctor said it was a sessamoid fracture while another doctor disagreed and called it sessamoiditis. Well that was 5 months ago and the pain hasn’t improved much. It’s still swollen. I get a buzzing feeling in big toe when it gets hit in something. Any ideas why? Also now my right side of my foot has started to have shooting pains bc I’ve been leaning on it so much. Trying your kit tape and dancer pads today! They seem to help a lot. But I’m still feeling pretty hopeless. I’m also icing and stretching and taking natural anti inflammatories bc my stomach agrees with it more. Sorry about the rant. No one else understands.
Hi Abigail. You are not crazy at all. I have experienced all those symptoms. I have been struggling with the fractures in my sesamoids on both feet for a year now. They are def better than they were but not healed. The things that has def helped the most are orthotics. Getting them properly made for my feet. Then going back and adjusting and adjusting. And I wear the Hoka bondi’s. Don’t ever wear anything else.
I hope you can start recovering soon. It really is the worst injury. But I’m determined to get them better without surgery. Good luck.
Vouching for hoka bondi’s. Just got my pair today, and it’s markedly better than anything else I’ve tried. It’s not a miracle solution by any means, and I still have issues, but it’s improved. As for orthotics, I can’t afford anything custom, but tried hundreds of dollars worth of everything I could find on Amazon. They all made things even worse than just flat shoes for me. Same with dancer pads and triangular metatarsal pads. Trying out the KT tape with the Bondi shoes right now and feeling better than I have in months, although the pain and danger are still there. I suffer from Sesamoiditis that was brought on about 6 months ago (which has probably about 60% recovered), and an unknown issue with the rest of my foot emanating from the 2nd toe/metatarsal, which likely caused the sesamoiditis.
Hi- you need to get an mri. I fractured my sesamoid but didn’t know it. My podiatrist thought it was a stress fracture and when I still had pain after ten days he ordered an mri to dig deeper. Turns out the 1st metatarsal was bruised and my sesamoid was fractured. A boot will only aggravated my injury so I’m not a fan. I also started having pain in my right sesamoid from leaning on rmy right foot so much. I have sesamoiditis in both feet too. Good luck.
Hi, Just curious how the MRI results changed management for you? I’ve dealt with sesamoiditis before in both feet back in 2018 and now it’s come back full force. I’ve had multiple professionals tell me imaging doesn’t ultimately change management, but had xrays back in 2018 that didn’t show anything. This time a pedorthist told me that a CT could tell me WHY I’m prone to it, although I’m skeptical knowing a root cause would change anything. The waitlist is a couple of years so I might just get on it anyways. Thanks!
Thanks for your post. It completely identify with what you went through. I’m almost 12 weeks in wearing the horrible air cast. I used a knee roller to get around, but that has begun to make my knee suffer. I was asked to be as still as possible, I did everything my podiatrist asked me to do and I still feel like I’ve made very little any progress. I’m gonna do calf stretches and see what my doctor tells me on my next visit. I’ve started to search for a sports medicine doctor as well. I hope I can get back to my Hokas or maybe even get a pair brooks, but just be off the boot. I feel that I have some great info on what I can try next. Amazing post and I’m happy to see that I’m not the only one with this strange fracture. It happened during the pandemic while I was doing cardio exercises at home, they involved jumping and I wasn’t wearing any shoes for the first sessions, then I started to feel that my feet were a bit sore so I started using sneakers indoors. I also started running way more and during the week I was moving to a new apartment as I was walking back home, when that sting of electricity hit me. It hurt for a little bit but I walked it off the next day and the next months until I couldn’t run or walk anymore. I went to emergency limping and was told by the emergency doctor that the x-ray showed no fracture. She suggested I go to a podiatrist or a physiotherapist. My podiatrist sent me to get bone scan. It took two months to get that appointment. When my bone scan results came out, it was confirmed that I had a sesamoid fracture. Then came the boot and a knee roller but no real hope until I read this blog. Thank you!
Hi! Thank you so much for your post! So incredibly helpful! I’m wondering if you ever tried HOKA shoes? And if so what you thought of them
Hi, I wear the Hoka bondi’s. They are great!!!! I can’t wear anything else!!
I read this a few months ago when I started getting symptoms. I’ve just got a scan result confirming it is sesamoiditis. It has been healing because I started massaging the ball of my foot and calves. I have a trainer who I work with remotely and he gave me calf and hamstring stretches and strengthening exercises. I’m also doing balance work and training my left foot to be stronger because it is super weak compared to my right.
I’m healing! I’m due to have a steroid shot but the swelling has decreased a lot. I was taking anti-inflammatories but after two lots of taking them for two weeks (so 4 weeks in total, with a gap in between), I’ve stopped due to gastric issues. The pain is gone completely. The swelling is decreasing (but it is swollen in the morning). Self massage and stretching have been the important thing to do here. A month on the sofa did nothing.
My injury came from inline skating – I do a kind of figure skating on them and was doing one leg jumps. I was putting a lot of force through the ball of my foot rather than making use of my leg muscles, which are tight and weak. I’m not back on my skates yet, which is really sad for me, but hopefully again soon.
Hi Laura! Thank you for sharing your healing journey! So helpful and so glad you’re feeling better! I’m not sure if you know much about the steroid shot, but I’ve heard some bad things about doing that for Sesamoiditis. I truly don’t mean to scare you, but rather just urge you to really look into it more (if you haven’t already). It sounds like things are going well for you w/the things you’re doing already. Wishing you the best of luck in whatever you decide! 💛
Oh, and also, some more gentle anti-inflammatories for your stomach may be magnesium, turmeric, and/or bromelain.
That’s encouraging Laura! May I ask what foot strength exercises you do? And when you say you massage the ball of your foot, do you mean applying pressure to the sesamoids themselves or just behind them? Thanks and hope you heal up!
Please reconsider getting the shot. It ruined my foot and destroyed the tissue around the bone. It most likely will never heal from it and I’m 25 years old. It was single handedly the worst thing I could have done. I got 4 shots and I wish I would turn back time.
I have been really aggressively stretching my calves- if you’ve ever been stretched by someone else, you may know that they can make you stretch more than you would yourself because it’s painful. I’ve been trying to push myself into that stretch. I’ve been lying on my back with a strap around my shoe, leg straight locked out and pulling down on my shoe to stretch my calf.
I don’t see the video for the taping??
There’s a hyperlink in the article, but the video is here:
I’ve literally had sesamoiditis in my left foot since 2017. The sports med doctor I went to initially thought the bones were necrotic, it’s so painful, but turns out it’s just really bad chronic inflammation. Dancer pads and Hoka shoes and totally avoiding any high-impact activities have been the only things keeping me walking, honestly. Gonna try KT tape!!!
I have the brooks gts adrenaline and am wondering if you had to get them in extra-depth to fit the custom orthotics? Mine feel so snug in them and I’m worried that they are restricting movement. Thanks!
In my experience, I initially had both the New Balance Fresh Foam More & the Hoka Challenger in the regular width size… once I got custom orthotics, they both felt super snug, along w/my big toe hitting/poking the topside of the shoe. So, I ordered both shoes in the WIDE version, and it did the trick. They both felt so much better!
Thanks!
I had the same, my podiatrist took them out in place of orthotics which he glued to a soft insole
Hey Robin, thank you for posting this. This is encouraging. With the inflammation and no fracture, how severe was your pain? Do you recall it making you limp at all? Thanks!
Great post. Thank you. I’m in my 3rd month of this hell. I’ve been to two podiatrists, x-rays, MRI, and bone scan. My last visit to Dr. Foot he told me to get out of the boot and gently start walking again (with my orthotic). But in the afternoon and evening my foot lights up like a Christmas Tree (with all red lights) and buzzes my big toe every few seconds. Did you experience anything like this? You mentioned inflammation in your post but what was the extent of that? Thanks again.
I commented here a few years ago after finding this post. I was struggling with foot pain in the ball of my foot for a good solid 8-9 months at that point. I had finally got an MRI and they told me I had a chronically fractured medal sesamoid bone. They prescribed orthotics. I had worn orthotics for probably 20 years but had decided to try to get out of them and do more lower drip shoes, etc. bad idea. Got back into my orthotics, and finally after probably a year and a half of struggling with this I was able to start running again. When this started I had just ran the Boston Marathon. I still have a hard time walking barefoot, but I wear my orthotics in every shoe and I run in the brooks ghost. But it’s 99% better. So it does get better, but it took a while for sure.
Hi Chat
I am so happy to see your post. Did any Drs talk to you about surgery? I’m booked in for next month. But I really don’t want to have it. Wood you suggest keeping going without surgery? I have a fractured medial sesimoid also.
Thank you
Hi Christy, I did talk to an orthopedic surgeon when getting a second opinion about the MRI and a PT friend of mine. Because they suspected it was chronic and potentially always that way but might have just gotten inflamed they tried the orthotics first and did say he could remove it surgically. I didn’t want to do surgery and wanted to try getting back into orthotics first. It still took some time for the custom orthotics to help but I’ve been back to running and racing now for probably a year and a half I think. It acts up every once in a while but nothing like it was.
Christy, I also had to do a lot and I mean a lot of trial and error to figure out what helped and what didn’t. In my house I pretty much wear soft adidas sandals all the time. When I wear shoes I started out only wearing the brooks ghost everywhere and bought balega soft blister proof socks because of their padding. Eventually I started running again and this combination seemed to work for me. There are times I still doubted the fracture and felt like maybe it was a chronic thing from my college track days in spikes that had just gotten inflamed. I don’t think for me it was a fracture that happened due to something acute.
Thanks Chad. I have had this for about 11 months now in both feet. I’m.booked into surgery because I felt like there was no hope anymore of this getting better. I have orthotics too. And I’m wearing the hokas running shoes. I think mine are from overuse from running.
I am terrified about surgery just don’t know how long to keep going and wait for them to get better without it. This is the worst injury. Were yours still sore at 11 months? I haven’t run since July last year. Would you recommend keeping going with surgery? I know hard for you today of course, but from your experience!!
Thank you so much Chad.
Is there anything else that helped?
Were your toes sore around the joint? (My MRI showed inflammation around the joint.
Thank you for your help!!!!
Hey Christy, honestly I don’t want to tell you to have or not have surgery but I’d get second opinions for sure. I’d be happy to share my email with you if you want to chat more about the things I did and my experience. It was the worst injury I’ve ever had that’s for sure.
Hi chat. Thank you so much, that would be amazing to be able to email. I’d love a few tips. I am happy for you that you have recovered.
Sure. Chadmyers262@gmail.com
Hi Christy… if you don’t want to have surgery, I would advise against it. At least until you’ve truly exhausted all options and have given the time for trial and error (as much as that sucks) like Chad went through. I’ve commented here before and mentioned looking up Caroline Jordan. She is a certified fitness coach (and was a runner) who suffered from a Sesamoid fracture and has recovered from it. She has a YouTube channel and Hurt Foot Fitness program designed to help people with injured feet, especially Sesamoiditis! There’s a chance you may have an imbalance in your glutes, legs, etc that could be causing this, and it needs to be strengthened. She even has a video interviewing a Podiatrist discussing the idea of surgery… and the podiatrist even advises against it. Ultimately, it’s up to you, but I just wanted to share my 2 cents if any of it can help. Wishing healing & the best for you!
Hi Chrissy, thanks so much for your message.
I have looked her up but I looked at some of her Fitness videos more than her interview type videos. Il have another look.
Sorry I missed your posts, did you have this? How are you going now?? Thank you for your help.
Hi Christy, she has a Hurt Foot Fitness program where people can come together and help each other get through the ups & downs of injury. Many in that group struggle with Sesamoiditis. The interview with the podiatrist regarding surgery is shared in that program. Here is a link to a playlist of hers regarding all things Sesamoiditis: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDh6UAgf3aBFGC-hwC1XP8b9YrJcTJ5Hv. I was actually misdiagnosed and am slowly getting better, but I’ve learned so much about Sesamoiditis because I thought I had it for a year. It is a horrible injury, and I’ve heard that some get surgery and still don’t recover. Sorry, don’t mean to be negative, but I just urge anyone to seriously rethink surgery if they haven’t truly exhausted all other options first.
Thanks so much Chrissy. I’m so sorry you were misdiagnosed. What did you end up having? Are you recovering? That is something I’m scared of it that they take the sesamoid out and then realise that that wasn’t where the pain was coming from. I don’t have that much pain around the sesamoid, it’s all around the big toe though.
Thank you for your help
Thank you!!! I’m going to look her up immediately
You’re welcome! I hope you find some relief!
I’ve had pain almost 2 years since I fractured the sesamoid. The fracture is showing progress my doctor says but pain still comes and goes
Were your orthotics measured while you were weight bearing and are they rigid (really hard) or a bit more soft (comfortable and a bit flexible)? Also did you ever have to return your orthotics for fine tuning?
Have you ever had a return of the sesamoid problem?
Oh yeah i wanna know if it ever returns. Ive been out for a month in a half so far. And im going on a trip in a month. I pray to be healed by then
Mine might get sore every once in a while but nothing that stopped be like at first.
Hi, just stumbled upon this blog after my sesamoiditis devastatingly returned. I had it in both feet back in 2018 when it was first diagnosed and I got it under control over a long period of time. Since then, I’ve been limited in the types of activities I can do (running, long hikes, high impact workouts), but I returned to a new baseline that was completely pain free. Sadly, I went skiing a few times mixed with the Insanity workout program and I’m back in a terrible flare. It’s been 2.5 months of extremely limited mobility and I’m desperately trying to figure out how to rehab them as fast as possible. I’d say it can return based on what happened initially – I was never diagnosed with turf toe and they didn’t find a fracture.. likely just my “high arches” they say, which I find hard to believe otherwise everyone with high arches would have this awful condition. I see your comment is from last year so hopefully things are going okay!
I have the same problem, mine has been back for 2.5 months and I am at a loss. Idk what to do. Did anything for you?
Hi Catherine, actually a few things recently have completely changed my healing process! The first thing was taking a cheap pair of flip flops and cutting a hole in them where my sesamoids sit so they are suspended in air, I’ve been wearing these around the house. Not a long term thing by any means but they have provided immediate relief. That, combined with Hoka Bondis and custom orthotics for all other times have made them around 70% better. I still am limited with how much I can walk around, had a busy day at work yesterday and they’re painful today, but not nearly as bad. Hoping this will do the trick to get it under control!
I will try the flip flop thing!! I have orthotics which helps a bit.
Im a skateboarder and i ignored my sesamoiditis cuz i didnt know what it was. All the sudden i couldnt walk normal anymore. I stopped all activities and so far its been 1 month. Ive seen no progress yet and ive been using this deep tissue heating pad to get more blood flow. My main question is how do you know when your healing? How do you slowly get back into activities? If you could respond thatd be great.
Hey Lucas
I’m also a skateboarder and I sustained a sesamoid stress fracture back in April 2021 (just reading through the comments now) it was misdiagnosed for 3 months as sesamoiditis and I saw very little improvement. I was also still skating as I thought it would just get better!? Anyway 7 months on and it is much better than it was but I’m still experiencing debilitating flare ups, i’m going through one at the moment and I didn’t skate for about 3 months, i’m back to skating now but I have to take it easy and just do transition or not take my foot off the board as it was my pushing foot!!
How’s it going for you?? any tips? I sometimes think skating transition helps the blood get to the area but I can’t do any tricks not even a basic ollie as its my back foot that’s affected.
This is me, but with peroneal tendonitis….was running in Altras for the past year. I had healed this injury previously, but it is back. And I am frustrated and frustrated with the podiatrists I have seen for this the last 2 years.
Hi all, really great reading other people’s stories. I have stress fractures in both medial sesamoids. Been struggling for 10 months.
Robin so great you recovered. I have bought prescription anti inflammatories and KY tape since reading this.
Does anyone else have good positive stories or other things I can try. I miss running but most of all I miss walking normally.
I’m trying using a wheelchair and crutches now as nothing else has worked for me.
Thanks for your help of love to hear other success stories for some hope or strategies.
Thank you for this post! Been dealing with a sesamoid fracture for 5 months now, and been through all the same problems, from podiatrist to physical therapy, wearing the walking boot for 3 months, etc! Wish I would’ve seen this post months ago. It definitely just gave me some hope!
Hi Robin, thanks so much for this post. Can you advise how often you taped your foot? How much downtime between tapings, etc? Thanks!
Hi Sean! There is a link in the post to the Youtube video with how to tape. I usually kept the tape on for as long as I could…usually it lasted from between 4-7 days!
Theres a link attached to where she was talking about her taping. I just started using it today so we’ll see how it goes
Thank you for this excellent post! I am a long time runner and have recently been dealing with a combination of sesamoiditis and hallux rigidus (arthritis of big toe) but I have found the bigger problem to be the sesamoiditis. I totally agree about the Alta shoes and ankle tendinitis. I tried to switch to a zero drop and my old ankle issues immediately returned. My question for you is: what type of running shoe ended up working for you? I just got orthotics and none of my previous go-to running shoes are comfortable with them – they are too tight or raise my foot too high in the shoe. Any recommendations you have would be greatly appreciated!
I actually use Brooks GTS Adrenaline now, and get them in wide. I’ve managed to avoid issues since switching!
Hi Robin, do you wear your orthotics in your brooks?
Thanks for the helpful post! I had mild sesamoiditis but after being very careful with my injured foot for the last 6 weeks (only walking and biking, no running or high impact activities) it is mostly gone. Do you have any advice on when it’s safe to slowly get back to running? Basically – do I need to wait until my injured foot is 100% recovered and feels just like my non-injured foot? Or, once the sesamoiditis is mostly gone, is it safe to start adding running back in?
I just very recently developed this injury and it absolutely SUCKS. I have had numerous injuries in my legs throughtout the years. Inflammed IT band, tight calves, plantar fasciitis, rolled my right ankle around 5x, pantellar tedonitis in my left knee, posterior tibialis tendonitis, right hip flexors being constantly tight just to name a few! Not all at the same time of course but through the years. I have scoliosis of my spine which my physio believes is one of the reasons I tend to get injured from running as my alignment isnt correct. I love running (trail only) so currently not being able to run or even go for hikes in the woods right now seriously blows. Its been almost a week now. I was having pantellar tendonitis happening in my left knee and I believe I was landing more so on the ball of my left foot harder than I normally would to compensate for my knee that I now have developed this injury. My physio even said to me that there isnt any exercises or anything really she can do. Just rest and what not. So reading what you have said about how you delt with it has me excited! So I will definitely be trying all that you have done to make it better. Thank you!
I’m so sorry to hear this, but if you’re only a week in, act FAST!! The faster you do, the faster it will heal. Otherwise, you’ll be in for the long haul. I’m going on 10 months now. And, in the midst of that, I also developed it in my other foot! Also, since you can’t run, check out Caroline Jordan Fitness on YouTube/IG… she is a fitness coach who suffered from this injury for 3 years! She is now healed, but she developed a bunch of great workouts specifically for people with injured feet!!
Hey, I’ve been dealing with a pain in the ball of my foot for a while now, and I’ve been unable to figure out what it is. Finally started doing some research and found out it had to be sesamoiditis. Your post has essentially verified this for me as what you’ve gone through is nearly 100% exactly what I’ve gone through. I’ve tried so many different things to no avail. I’ve come across KT tape before, but now after reading this post, I’m sold. I’m getting KT tape right now! Thank you!
I can’t tell you how happy I was to read this. It is good to know I haven’t been making this up!!!! Podiatrist clueless
Tried dancer pads. Helped at first. Then tried Altra.as well. Thought I had found the secret. It was great until the Achilles pain started. Oh and the arch pain. But still no sesamoid pain. Hmmm. Insoles for the Altras. Thought it was going to work but that ended after a few hours. Ugghh. I am a former massage therapist and have been working this area as well this entire time. It’s a never ending battle. It is a very mysterious obscure injury. Foam roller definitely tells you the hot spots. Shins and calves. Yikes. I may have a touch of plantar tunnel syndrome as well. Ugghh. I work in healthcare and am constantly on my feet. I “used to” work out but already having the pain or knowing it’s going to get worse is not encouraging. So I have slacked off. I am fed up. I’m out of shape AND in pain. I’m glad you found what works for you. I can’t wait till my turn. Thanks so much for the post.
This was such a helpful and motivating blog post. I was feeling so defeated by this injury. However, after reading this post I feel so much better. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Hi, thanks for this info! My just turned 8 year old daughter was diagnosed with sesamoiditis at the beginning of January. She has been on crutches for almost 12 weeks with slight improvement she tells me it’s maybe 30% better. I was wondering if anyone can tell me if their heel has also hurt with this? She has had multuple x-rays and an MRI. Mainly we’ve tried rest, meaning no walking or weight on the foot, I purchased Kado cream, which I think helps a little. I asked her ortho about anti inflammatoires after reading this and was told they mainly treat arthritis and don’t suggest them ( maybe it was age thing too). We’ve haven’t tried the kt tape but will. Our next step is to try accupuncture and another Dr although ours is great I just need more insight. So anyhow, does anyone elses Heel or any other part of the foot hurt or just the sesamoid area? Thanks for any help!
Hi Christa, I’m not sure it’s the same kind as you’re describing, but I have experienced heel pain, which, for me, was a sign of Achilles pain, which was a sign of losing strength from resting my foot too much and likely not stretching enough. So now, to avoid that pain, I do calf stretches, foam rolling, and ankle pumps/circles. That seemed to help my heel pain go away. I’ve also started following Caroline Jordan on YouTube who was a ballerina and is now a fitness coach who healed from a Sesamoid injury after a couple years. Google her, she has tons of helpful videos for people who are injured. Hope that helps!
Great thanks, it’s hard because she doesn’t know how to fully communicate her pain type and level. She has a pretty high pain threshold but still says her heel hurts. We’ll do as suggested the heel/ muscle strengthen ing exercises. I do feel like most ok the heel pain might have come later, which would be a result in loss of muscle/use. Thanks for the ideas, so ready for this girl to run and play again.
Crissy, thanks so much for the YouTube recommendation!
Christa, I’ve also had plantar fasciitis on the same foot (pain at the bottom of the heel) and a sore Achilles tendon (at the back of the heel). For the plantar fasciitis, I picked up a towel with my toes and drew the alphabet with my big toe. For the Achilles tendon, I’m doing sets of calf raises, 2-3 times a day. Daily foam rolling and stretching also help with both. So sorry your daughter is dealing with this pain!
Thanks to everyone in this post. It’s been 4 long months, we’ve been doing strengthening exercises and for a temporary fix took a couple of insoles out of her shoes and cut out the “hot spots” for her sesamoid and heel and she is finally learning how to walk again. Keep in mind she has need used that foot in 4 months, thanks to everyone for your suggestions or posts this was so frustrating and my heart goes out to anyone dealing with this! Oh we did use a cream cbd2 that was supposed to help with inflammation for about a month, I’m honestly not sure if that helped. Good luck everyone!
Hey Christa, as far as I know, the sesamoids develop (ossify) at a later age – at an age of 12-13 years. So maybe you could check out with another doctor if it is sesamoiditis at all.
I’m sorry your daughter is going through so much. My heel has been hurting too because I been shifting my weight to my heel specially if I’m walking barefoot. Just recently been modifying softer inserts and taking off pressure from sesamoid area seems to decrease my pain, but I’m definitely going to try the exercises they recommend to increase flexibility in my leg and calf area. I’m also considering a product called cds which increases oxygen level and that may help to speed healing. Look into Andreas kalcker. Another supplement I’m considering is magnesium that has helped many people with bones and joints issues. I think drs don’t look to see if we have deficiencies which may trigger all these complications. My last lab report shows my vitamin D level is at 13 and the minimum should be at 31! All vitamins have such impact in our body. God bless and hope your daughter gets well soon
Wondering if you, or anyone else on here has tried acupuncture? I’m about 6 weeks in and it doesn’t seem to be improving.
I haven’t, but I’m curious. Did you ever try it?
Thanks so much for writing this post and including the KT taping video! It’s been almost 3 years since my first visit to the podiatrist for sesamoid pain. I’ve tried the dancer’s pads, custom orthotic, cortisone shots, quit running and walking around barefoot for 8 months, quit rock climbing for a year which gave my feet a break from the tight shoes, did a ton of icing and diligently picked up towels and drew the alphabet with my toes, and still was told that I’d always have to wear the orthotic and wear shoes indoors. So I stopped seeing the podiatrist. I switched all my shoes to zero drop with wide toeboxes (Altra, Vivobarefoot, Softstar) and that did help enough for me to ditch the orthotic and get back to running.
It’s flaring up again as I gradually ramp up the mileage, so this time I have a prescription topical anti-inflammatory (diclofenac) and dancer’s pads. I’ve been foam rolling and stretching my calves and will add massage and KT taping. Here’s hoping this will get me in good shape to train for a July marathon!
When you went to PT what kind of excercises did you do? Did you stay off your feet and do floor/ table exercises?
Many thanks for the info about the dancers’ pads! I’ve been hobbling around miserably for months, but suddenly I can walk normally again. Really a life-changer!
Robin how long did it take you to set-up this blog?
I am so relieved and frustrated to read this. *cusses under breath / wipes a tear* I have had sesamoiditis for a long time, maybe a few years. I do a lot of strength training, durability training, and some running. I always just thought I had a weird foot; sometimes I would take a step and this lightning pain would shoot up straight out of hell itself into that sesamoid area and land me on my knees, or at least hopping over to a chair. I thought maybe it was just a weird nerve thing, or a weird tendon thing. I never imagined it was an injury. When I started seeing more formation of a bunion, I bit the bullet and saw a podiatrist who barely diagnosed it (I had to drag it out of her to get clear answers about what could possibly be causing this unpredictable pain, beyond just “you have a wide toe box,” and “you shouldn’t be wearing minimalist shoes” ?!?!), and she told me what kind of shoes to buy and wear for all of my waking hours. She told me I should never be barefoot, not even around the house. I was disheartened because I love being barefoot, but I was determined to “do the right thing” and “listen to the doctor” so I would improve. So I shelled out a couple hundred for the “right” shoes. Four months later, I have been doing what she prescribed, and I can no longer walk barefoot without altering my foot contact with the ground or else I am in pain. Of course my feet feel fine in my extra squishy Altras, but without the padding, my feet are extremely stiff and have lost their mobility and strength being strapped into foot prisons all day. I am afraid it has affected my stability, and I am concerned that it has just made the problem worse. I want to roam the earth and be outside barefoot; I don’t want to have to strap on my couch cushions so that my fragile toes can be insulated against some steps on the earth. They are feet! THEY WERE MADE FOR WALKING FOR GOD’S SAKE! I am so frustrated and was encouraged reading about your experience. I am going to try the gel pads, and I am DEFINITELY going to see a sports med practitioner instead of the pod again.
I had a very similar experience. How are you doing now?
Hello Robin! THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR THIS. I’m feeling very discouraged right now in my 2nd month, and seeing other people’s comments that this can last over a year is terrifying me. But, your post gives me hope. I will definitely be trying everything you suggested. I was convinced that I needed a boot at this point, BUT your post (and other people’s comments) is SAVING me from doing that, so thank you! I do have a few questions: 1) If the zero drop shoe didn’t work for you, what kind of shoe did you use instead? 2) How long did you wear the KT tape until you didn’t have to anymore? 3) How did you know when it was OK to start running again (or have the confidence to do so)? In other words, how did you go about reintroducing impact to your sesamoids very slowly? I’m going to be SO scared to try that w/out re-injuring myself! 4) What are the bunion rubber things you got (I have bunions, too :-/)? Lastly, 5) Did you wear the bunion things, orthotics/pads, and KT tape all simultaneously? Sorry for so many Q’s!! Can’t thank you enough for posting this!!
Hey robin, I was just wondering if you instantly had no pain with the orthotic or if it took time for the pain to go away. I have bursitis in the ball of my foot and it’s been so annoying.
Thanks!
I’ve had a sesamoid problem for a bout a year now and I have kaiser as well the last appointment I had was about 2 weeks ago and my doctor said I was born with two bones instead of one that it wasn’t a fracture. But see I have this hoka shoes to avoid from me bending my big toe along with a dancers pad but my foot makes a like cracking noise it doesn’t hurt but I was wondering if that happened to you as well. I’ve done the KT tape but it only seems to work when I’m at home not when I’m at work standing for 5 hours straight . I was wondering what else I could do to further sped my recovery? Thank you for posting this not a lot of people have this issue but I’m glad I’m more informed then how I was now that I’ve came here to your website.
Wow your situation it just like mine! I’ve had sesamoid paid for over 6 months. I also have the two-bone sesamoid AND I just bought Hoka shoes to protect my foot. I just left Kaiser though because my podiatrist had no answers at all. Just told me to “stay off of it.” This post was great because I also tried a boot for a month and that somehow made it worse..?? I’m going to take her advice about tape and ask my doctor about the prescription anti-inflammatory. You could also try taking fish oil as it’s great for reducing inflammation (I was told all athletes should take fish oil). And lastly, contrasting therapy – switching from heat to ice, back and forth a few times. This forces more circulation to the area so the healing can take place. Good luck!!
Thanks for the article! This is great information! I’ve dealt with sesamoiditis for about 12 months now after an avulsion fracture to my sesamoid bone. I haven’t been able to do what I love (Brazilian jiujitsu) for over 4 months and I am going crazy – definitely need to start biking like you said! I’ve used orthotics from my podiatrist but it’s been over 3 months and still I am in pain and have issues although they help. I am going to try this tape out and thanks for the hope! I appreciate all the info!
Hi! what kind of orthotics are you using?
The pain of not knowing can be worse than the pain itself….. searching for answers or looking for someone with a similar issue and how they got over it is what I’ve been after for a LONG time.
Massive thank you, not only was this was a great read bit it’s become a relief in knowing that there is a way to stop the pain after nearly 12 months of issues. Bearing in mind I’m probably my own worse enemy as I’ve continued to play sports pretty much throughout and suffering the next days/weeks after.
I am suffering from this now (/Sesamoiditis hopefully and not a stress fx. Getting MRI tomorrow to rule it out). I think it came on due to being too aggressive and not changing gradually into low drop shoes (went from 10mm to 4mm). The pain is almost all gone thanks in large part to dancer pads. But I notice my big toe is still swollen. How long did it take for your swelling to go away. I’m icing and on Mobic (prescription anti inflammatory). It’s been a week since the onset of the pain. I stopped running about 4 days ago when I realized it wasn’t going away (even though it never bothered me on the run). Thanks four your response and the post. I’ve started taping and rolling out my calves now too!
Its so nice to read something like this, having had so many issues with this. In high school, while trying to get recruited for college tennis, I fractured my sesamoid after years of having sesamoiditis but not knowing it and just dealing with the pain. Not being able to play at the start of my senior year stopped me from getting recruited. I healed eventually and got back in shape and ended up walking on to the team my freshman year of college. The pain started again in my spring season and my trainer had no idea what to do so he suggested a cortisone shot. I got the shot and I didnt feel that much of an improvement but it didnt feel worse. Three weeks later I went to the doctor and was told my sesamoid had fractured again. Who knows how long I had been playing with a fractured sesamoid again. I went to 5 other doctors. some told me it wasnt broken. others said the previous fracture had never healed. and all of them basically said there is no solution and that I will just have to deal with this recurring problem as long as Im playing. I didnt play for 4 months and wore the boot that summer. Returning in the fall, I immediately started to have sesamoiditis in my other foot, the left. I got new orthotics that were suppose to help both feet and the pain subsided. I ended up not being able run or play as much that spring season just because of school work. But now this summer, as I try to get back in shape, I am getting sesamoiditis again in my left foot. I love running and I love playing college tennis, but at this point I have come to think that Ill never win this battle. Yet, Your post has given me some hope that maybe I willl. Thank you!
Hi , did your sesamoid recovery? I’m booked the n for surgery but desperately don’t want to have it. I need hope.
sesamoiditis is the worst. I’m moving back to DC area (NOVA) and was wondering if you recommend any of the doctors you saw for your sesamoiditis? Here in Florida all they wanted to do was inject cortisone or remove the bone….yeah not happening.
Did the custom orthotic have a a cutout for your sesamoid? Do you think that was worth it? What type of anti inflammatory did they prescribe you? Thanks again as this is such an obscure injury! I find my self jealous when i see folks just walking happily down the street (well not really ).
I totally get feeling that way! Anytime I saw someone on the metro having just come from a run I got so mad at them hahaha! I think the cutout orthotic did help and I was glad that I got it. They also gave me a naproxen prescription, which helped a lot. Unfortunately, I have Kaiser Permanente insurance, so I could only see KP doctors (who were less than helpful…) I’d recommend looking for a sports medicine doctor if you can; they are more motivated to get you back on your feet!!
This guy Really helped me a lot. Has some Good advice. https://www.thesewisefeet.com/sesamoiditis-treatment-exercises/
Thank you for sharing!! 🙂
I am suffering from this now (/Sesamoiditis hopefully and not a stress fx. Getting MRI tomorrow to rule it out). I think it came on due to being too aggressive and not changing gradually into low drop shoes (went from 10mm to 4mm). The pain is almost all gone thanks in large part to dancer pads. But I notice my big toe is still swollen. How long did it take for your swelling to go away. I’m icing and on Mobic (prescription anti inflammatory). It’s been a week since the onset of the pain. I stopped running about 4 days ago when I realized it wasn’t going away (even though it never bothered me on the run). Thanks four your response and the post. I’ve started taping and rolling out my calves now too!
Hello! I had a question about your transition from the boot to a normal shoe. I have been struggling with sesamoiditis for a month now and my situation seems similar to yours. I agree that I think the boot is causing more harm than good, but I was wondering how you made the switch from the boot to the normal shoe, as I am having pain in my sesamoids still so I’m wondering if that means I should still be in the boot. Did you have any pain when you got rid of the boot or did you ditch the boot after the pain was gone? Thanks so much!
And yes…still had pain after the boot. I didn’t find the boot to be helpful at all and thought the lack of muscle use was actually hurting me more (and led to more injuries that took a lot longer to heal!).
Hi! I had a quick question about your healing process, as I have been dealing with sesamoiditis for a month now. How did you make the transition from the boot to the shoe? Did you just switch and bear the pain, or was it a slow transition? I am worried about switching from the boot to the shoe (although I agree that the boot is likely causing more harm than good), as my sesamoids still hurt. Do you have any advice?
When I came out of the boot, I went into shoes with wide toe boxes and the orthotic with the cutout. It took the pressure off the sesamoid and made the transition less painful. I hope you’re feeling better!
Hello Robin,
Thank you so much for giving me hope, i been dealing with a sesamoid that fractured in july and healed in October of 2018. Sadly it reopened again on January and until today im still unable to walk . the fracture is closed but the inflammation and pain is still there, nothing helps . what anti-inflammatory did you use , i been using ibuprofen , no help at all. the podiatrist i see has not prescribed anything at all . After reading your notes im going to schedule an appt with a sports medicine doctor and hopefully it goes better. thank you very much !!! yuset
Hi! I got a naproxen prescription, which helped a lot when used with the KT tape. I didn’t have a fracture though, just inflammation. I hope you’re feeling much better!!
Hey Robin! Did you start the KT tape after the nonweight bearing time? My doc just extended my 6 weeks of nonweight bearing to 4 additional weeks based on my MRI that shows inflammation and the sesamoids and my big toe joint, a possible strain in the muscles, and possibly still a crack in a sesamoid. That MRI was taken 5 weeks into being nonweight bearing on my foot. Suffice to say, I’m frustrated and want to heal. Would KT tape do any good now, or should wait til I go back to starting to use my foot again?
I’m happy I found your hurt foot workouts because I’m been miserable being so sedentary. My job is usually very very active and I miss being active! I’m going to start the workouts this week.
Hi! I hope that you’re feeling better since you commented this! KT tape is helpful for managing inflammation regardless of whether or not you’re using your foot! I know how frustrating it can be 🙁
Thanks for sharing, Robin! I’ve had undiagnosed sesamoiditis for over a year. I’ve seen a podiatrist, chiropractor, and physiotherapist – all of them didn’t know what I had. Finally saw an orthopedic surgeon and within 30 seconds, he told me exactly what I had. Mine started with a sudden sharp pain in the ball of my left foot as I was walking on the sidewalk. My footwear didn’t have a lot of cushioning/padding at the time. Was very painful and limping for over a month. Now it’s just a dull, deep pain that gets inflamed and hurts more whenever I walk on it for over 20 minutes.
My orthopedic surgeon prescribed custom orthotics to me. Should I do the KT tape as well?
I’m hoping that this solves everything!
If it’s just inflammation and not a fracture, I think taping it helps a lot! Also try to take some NSAIDs while it’s taped to reduce swelling as much as possible to help the healing process begin! I’m not a doctor, but that definitely helped me!
Hi Robin, Your web site is SO helpful! Thanks! My podiatrist saw right away that I had sesamoiditis. He taped my foot (including a dancer pad). He told me to leave the tape and pad on for three full days, which I just did. Touch wood, the pain is now gone. But I’ve been reading about how delicate this injury can be, so my plan is to continue taking it easy and not completely resume all my activities just yet. This is what I understand – that even when you are pain free, you could still re-injure yourself again. Is this correct? In your personal opinion, how long do you have to be pain free before the injury is considered over? Thanks for your thoughts!
I would give it at least a week, maybe even two. Keep taking it easy. You can definitely reinjure yourself, so they best thing to do is make sure you work on stretching and strengthening to prevent it!! So glad you found my post helpful! Good luck!
What would be the best calf stretches please
Hi Shira! I just put my foot against a wall and leaned into it to stretch my calves, and I also carefully used a foam roller on them
Hi Robin, for the past 5 1/2 months I’ve thought I had capsulitis of my second toe. Finally got an MRI and got the results today. They said it was sesamoiditis and a chronically fractured sesamoid bone. Which they said could have just been an old injury or I was born that way. (Shrug). I am getting Active Release Therapy done on it but for a while they have been treating the wrong area because another Dr told me it was capsulitis. So today he started working on my sesamoid area and arch and I’ve been stretching my calves more. I’ve tried biking but it started to bug me a bit but I’m going to try softer inserts and try again. I’ve been a runner since I was about 11-12, and I’m not 45, ran in college, Boston, and have just now had this type of foot injury so it’s been frustrating.
I will also try the KT tape. Did anyone recommend cortisone shots? I keep getting told I should get one but I’m very apprehensive about it.
Thanks for your post!
Hey Chad, sorry for my interruption. Corticoids are almost compulsory because they help to reduce the immflamation, the pain will appear soon but in a lower intensity. More over, don’t expect major progress in a short period of time..it’s a long-term process and there’s no much to do but doing a lot of stretches and movements with the toe (and suspend all kind of high-impacts sports).
I’ve tried to avoid running for three months and I’m much better..my doc told me that I’ll need at least 6 months overall.
Hope u get well soon!
Hi Marcelo, thanks for the input for sure. The weirdest thing to me is they said it’s sesamoiditis but the pain is not under my big toe. It’s under the 2nd toe and 3rd. So stretching the toes also are good? Strengthening exercises?
Hi Chad – fyi, I have a chronic sesamoid problem and several times as its been healing (getting better than often worse again) I have injured the 2nd 3rd and 4th metatarsals putting inserts under those areas and transferring too much weight there. if your 2nd and 3rd toe are hurting, I think it’s likely you are in the early stages of “stress reaction” which comes before stress fracture. make sure you aren’t putting too much of the foot weight on the 2nd and 3rd toe area…. you can try pads that work around the area, but mostly see the orthotic guys and PT/podiatrists. good luck!
Have you seen someone specialized on foot? Not all the doctors know about this pathology.
Hi Chad! I did only have inflammation, not a fracture, so I’m sure your treatment would be at least slightly different than mine. My doctor mentioned cortisone shots, but didn’t recommend them or think they would help too much. But they might do better with your injury! I hope you start feeling better soon!
Robin, how long have you been injured? Personally, I had chosen the wrong doctor so it took me 18 months to find the right one. I’ve been through this injury for about 2 years. My new doctor recommended that I should avoid running for 6-8 months; the last time I run was 3 months ago, and I’m almost inflammation free..however, he doesn’t think I should try KT tapes; he thinks they’re not significantly helpful for this kind of injury. Notwithstanding I’m much better, I’m quite worried about not having done everything possible to heal myself.
I was only injured with sesamoiditis for about 4 months. I’ve found that not many doctors know much about it. I avoided running for those 4 months until I was completely pain free. It sounds very positive that you’re almost inflammation free!! Every body is different, so my experience may not work for you. I hope you are 100% better soon!
Hi Robin. Dealing w/ same issue. Inflammation of Sesamoids & have gone down that same path as you. Can you recommend the best make of tennis shoes to purchase for this problem? And should you stick w/ size you normally wear or go up 1/2 size?
Oh my goodness…THANK YOU for giving me hope. I’ve been dealing with sesamoiditis for a while now and it’s the most frustrating injury I’ve ever had.
I’ve just got a couple of questions:
1. Do you think just doing the naproxen (prescription anti-inflammatory) and KT tape alone would probably heal the injury completely, or are the other things you mentioned (foot massage, calf stretches, ball-of-foot pads, etc) absolutely necessary as well?
2. Regarding the foot massage, you said this: “…he seized my foot and began digging his hard, man knuckles into the arch, right underneath the sesamoids.” When you say “right underneath the sesamoids”, do you mean “toward the ankle”, or do you mean literally right underneath (as in, underneath when standing on your feet) the sesamoids, i.e. directly on the sesamoids themselves? I have no problem massaging the arch and stopping short of the sesamoids, but trying to massage the sesamoids themselves is so painful as to seem like a non-starter for me at this point.
Thanks again–I can’t begin to thank you enough for putting your experience online and offering us hope and a solution.
Hi Dave!! So glad you are feeling better about things. I think that the anti-inflammatory and KT tape was certainly very helpful, because my only issue was chronic inflammation. But the other things are also important. The foot pads to keep it from getting worse, the calf stretches and foot massages works to fix your biomechanics. Regarding the foot massage from the PT, I meant underneath the sesamoids as in towards the ankle, like on the arch closest to the toes. My foot and calves were soo tight, and that’s the reason that I got injured in the first place. I think getting the tension out of your muscles take the strain off your sesamoids. Hopefully you can start seeing some results very, very soon!
Hey, thanks for sharing your story! I’m currently three weeks into a sesamoid injury myself. I saw a sports medicine doctor who put me in a boot for four weeks, and I’m supposed to get the boot off and start physical therapy next week, but the pain hasn’t gone away yet and I’m afraid it’s not healing as quickly as initially expected. I know for a fact that I have chronically tight calves and arches, so I’m definitely going to try massaging/stretching them more. Did ice help at all with your recovery process? And how long did it take for you to begin running again? (I’m signed up for the NY marathon in November, but at this point it looks like I might have to drop out 🙁 super bummed about that…)
I’ve been taking it very slow. Walking can still cause me pain and it’s been almost 3 months. Ice didnt help, elevating it and ibuprofen and taking it easier with my exercise has helped the most. KT TAPE and stretching and foam rolling has been big part of my daily routine to keep the pain away. I’ve had to change shoes and still trying to find the right type. I’d say the KT tape was the trick for me. If you look online you can find how to put it on 🙂 good luck!
I went to a fabulous chiropractor who diagnosed my sesamoiditis! He has adjusted it a few times and it stays in place for a bit them i walk normally and I can actually feel it come out of place. So now he tapes it. I’ve researched KT tape and now tape it myself. Im not back to running yet but can average 12-15000 steps a day with little to no pain.
Chiropractor has told me it will take time for the bone to learn to stay in place. But after each adjustment I can go a week or more longer between adjustments. I’m to 5 weeks between 🙂 there’s hope. And the KT tape helps so much!
WOW thank you for sharing!! That is so exciting! I am obsessed with KT tape and always have a roll on hand. I’d love to find a decent chiropractor for my other injuries but have not found one yet unfortunately!
I’m in San Diego. I’ll ask mine next time I see him how to find good ones elsewhere 🙂 KT tape has truly saved me!
Hi! I used to be a runner but haven’t run in 6 months now due to various injuries. In March I dropped a weight on top of my foot, was told it was a bone bruise and was sentenced to 4 weeks in a boot. At the end of week 4 exactly I suddenly got intense pain in my foot, it was sesamoiditis. Doctors don’t know how I got the injury while being fairly inactive in a boot..I’m convinced the boot caused it because I pronate ALOT and the boot was just a flat platform. Anyways, your article was helpful and gave me some hope that I will be able to walk again someday. Are you able to walk to work and run now?
Absolutely! I have been pain free in the sesamoids for over 2 years now! 🙂 Good luck to you in your recovery!!
Hi, I am so glad to read this! This is my second time with a flare up and this time it is so much worse. I have done the whole boot thing, swimming, biking, massaging, ultrasound, orthotics, laser therapy and dry needling and it’s not going away. But, hearing your story is uplifting 🙂 Thanks for sharing! I feel like all the doctors, PT, chiros, etc. I have seen are always like wait, what is this?
Yes! No one knows what to do haha! I hope you feel better soon!!
Thank you so much for this post! My pain came on gradually over a few months, first in the base of my big toe, and then down through the ball of my foot and into my arch. Ouch!
Your experience, at least with doctors, definitely echos mine. After being diagnosed with potential sesamoiditis by my GP, I was placed in a walking boot for three weeks until I could get an appointment with the fancy university podiatrist I’d been referred to. When I finally got in to see him, he barely examined my foot, gave me a cortisone shot, and sent me on my way. Needless to say, he was baffled when I came back a week and a half later with increased pain, both from extended use of the walking boot and from the joint stiffness caused by the shot.
Since then, I’ve seen a sports medicine doctor at my university who wasn’t very helpful (he also didn’t understand why I hadn’t healed if I’d been wearing a boot cast for a month) and a physical therapist (the most helpful so far) who emphasized the importance of getting moving and weightbearing again in order to increase circulation. My arches up through my achilles are also super tight (made worse by the boot cast), so I have been working on foam rolling, massaging, and stretching the entire area, which definitely seems to help. I also have some pretty intense heel pain (maybe achilles or plantar fasciitis issues) that wasn’t present before wearing the boot.
I’m seeing an orthopedist tomorrow who specializes in foot and ankle, but I’m not sure where to go from there if the appointment is a bust.
Do you have any tips for finding a sports medicine doctor who is knowledgable about foot and ankle issues? In that same vein, was your sports medicine doctor the one who made your orthotics, or did you get them made somewhere else?
I haven’t had a lot of luck with the dancers pads, perhaps because my foot is small or because I can’t quite figure out the right placement, but I’m definitely planning to order some K-Tape after reading your post.
Thanks so much again! At this point, figuring out how to heal this injury has become a part-time job of sorts.
I am sorry to hear all that! Unfortunately my options when it came to doctors was very limited because of the insurance I have. I was only able to see 2 podiatrists and an orthopedist, none of whom were very helpful. The podiatrist ordered the orthotics for me. One of the doctors told me I was developing a bunion in my foot (probably from wearing shoes too tight in the toes for years) so I decided to get little rubber things to spread my toes out, which ultimately did release some pressure in the ball of my foot. Good luck to you on your recovery and keep me updated!
I feel like I should follow-up my comment from 6ish months ago to say, yes, you can definitely heal from sesamoid injury and thank god for your original blog post!
I finally ended up seeing a great PT who specialized in manual therapy. He was able to take a look at my biomechanics and figure out the cause of the stress on my sesamoids and subsequent injury. In short, my hamstrings and calves were also super tight, causing my ankle joint to not function properly, and all the flex/force to come down on my forefoot/sesamoids. For me, it took a lot of stretching, mobilization of the areas were I was stiff/tight, massage work in the arch of my foot (yes, like you, right beneath the sesamoids), and the right pair of shoes (Chaco Cloud sandals were a lifesaver for me as someone with a high arch who needed stability).
My foot woes are mostly behind me, though I do occasionally get stiffness/little pangs from time to time. I haven’t tried to get back into full-on running, but I’m very active otherwise (barefoot yoga/pilates work has also helped with strength and flexibility after being in a walking cast). Oh, and I generally stick to zero-drop shoes with room for toe splay, which has been the ticket for me but obviously isn’t helpful to everyone.
I’m hoping some of these solutions might be helpful to others who are suffering. I’ve been pain free since early-June.
Thank you again, Robin, so much for your informative post!
Thank you so much for your advice and I am sooo happy to hear you beat sesamoiditis!!
Thank you! I’m feeling hopeful after your post. It’s the second I’ve read tonight with similar things that helped. Wish I was the devoted runner you and the other blogger are. I walk and combo job and walk 10-15 miles a day between working out, walking dog and work (teacher), so my feet take it hard. But I’m older, 47, and have a history of feet problems. Wish this overuse injury meant I was back to the size I was 2 years ago, rather than just setting me back farther. Thank you for the video also. Hopefully I’ll be back to my walk/job by July
I hope the advice helps you a bit! I know it is so frustrating! Good luck to you!!
Hello. I’m struggling with sesamoiditis for 3 months now. I’m trying ultrasound therapy, k tape, antinflamatories and active release therapy. Had some success but the pain now comes and goes. I’m running very little distance and time 1x a week, doesnt make my pain worse but I can’t wear high heels that the pain comes back. I would like to know if your pain is better now and you can wear heels and also if you stopped totally of running during your healing time…. I don’t know if I’m delaying healing by running eventually but I go crazy without sports 🙁 its depressing.
Oh no I’m so sorry to hear that! I did take a couple months off from running completely and only did biking and swimming. I was injured for about 4 months total. I haven’t had any sesamoid pain for about 2 years now and can wear heels occasionally and run! I know it is depressing 🙁 Just keeping being patient! It takes a lot of time and rest and patience!
Can you advise how you taped your foot for relief? Thank you
Hi Susan! I added a link to the video that shows you how to apply the tape. Hopefully this helps you! Good luck!
Thanks for giving me hope Robin. I impact fractured my sesamoid 9months ago and despite wearing stupid boot since a bone scan yesterday revealed a still very present fracture. The doctors response was ‘well some breaks just never heal, especially in difficult bones like this one’ ; a conclusion I refuse to accept. I’m going to try your anti-inflammatory and KT tape trick, but like Jesse would like to know how you transitioned from boot to shoe. Any advice would be fab and gratefully received. Thanks again, Kristen