Sesamoiditis

Experiencing a painful sensation in the ball of your foot, just behind your big toe? You may very well be suffering from Sesamoiditis. This ailment is generally defined by pain and inflammation to the sesamoid bones and surrounding tendons and tissue. The bones themselves are positioned just behind the big toe and above the ball of the foot. Common complaints of those who suffer from sesamoiditis are pain just behind the big toe, intermittent swelling of the ball of the foot, intermittent pain and pain during walking, running or jumping. Given the fact that the culprits are two small bones that reside within the ball of the foot, the disease is most common in those who run frequently, dance, squat or wear high heeled shoes. If you find yourself experiencing pain of this type, and you do one of the aforementioned activities on a frequent basis, aim to reduce the frequency as soon as possible. Recognising the symptoms early and treating the affected area withhome remedies may just save you more expensive or even surgical repairs down the road. In order to further zero in on whether you are suffering from sesamoiditis or not, look for these symptoms: Sesamoiditis generally comes on slowly, with slight pain occurring infrequently and then growing both in intensity and frequency as time moves on. If you feel that you are experiencing a dull painful sensation when extending your big toe upward, or performing any of the above tasks, begin a home remedy regimen right away. If however you got here too late and you are experiencing chronic pain, expect chronic inflammation of the sesamoid bone region, swelling and a general sense if discomfort while walking, running or jumping. You can still try out some of our home relief product recommendations, however a trip to the podiatrist is likely in order, to diagnose the underlying cause of your pain.

What is a Sesamoid Bone?

Now that you know a bit about the disease itself, let’s understand the Sesamoid Bones a little better. Once we understand the purpose of the bones it will be easier to grasp the gravity of an injury to this area.

The sesamoid is a bone that is embedded within a tendon. Sesamoid bones are found in a number of joints in the body, but tend to flare up mostly in the foot. The typical foot holds two sesamoid bones, small in stature (the size of a bean) and located around the ball of the foot, just behind the first metatarsal of the big toe.

The sesamoid bone acts as a pulley for the tendons that surround the big toe. They assist the big toe to move normally and assist in the act of “pushing off.” The sesamoid bone also serves as a weight bearing bone for the first metatarsal (which is the long bone that is connected to the big toe). The bones themselves in turn provide important shock absorption when weight is placed upon the ball of the foot while running or walking. For a more in depth description, check out our sesamoid bone page which provides an anatomical overview of the bones themselves and their function.

Sesamoiditis Causes

Direct Injury to The Sesamoid Bones

Many times sesamoiditis can be caused simply by aggravating the sesamoid bone through brunt force trauma such as stepping on a hard object or running without shoes. This cause is relatively rare, but is seen in certain cases.