Will sesamoiditis go away or is this forever?

I've been diagnosed with sesamoiditis also, I have it since last october (4 months now). On the first 3 weeks I almost could not walk, then I started taking antinflammatories and it kind of went away...but not for long! 2 months later it came back, now its less painful (but still painful!!!) it is very unconfortable because I can walk only by steping on the outer part of my foot. Again doctor told me to take antinflammatories (mobicox and then prexige) but they are not working any longer. I use orthotics which make walking kind of easy but I have my doubts. Xrays came out OK, no fracture of the sesamoids but edema and inflammation. I soak my foot in hot water every night, I'm still working out (jogging, spinning) because it makes no difference and I'm icing my foot after. I know I'm not being helpful, but I'm also interested on knowing if this is forever or it will go away. Wish you luck!

Would like to print this to share with my Podiatrist.

I know that this thread is old, but thought I would reply anyway;
I've also been diagnosed with sesamoiditis, after almost 2 years of pain. Apparently I need to rest up my foot (with orthodics and no heels) and my rheumotologist has suggested the pain will go away... if not, there are options involving surgery or cortisone injections, apparently, and also a cast to reduce pressure and allow the wound to heal. Like those above, I'm unsure as to how I got this; could have been a stress fracture originally, or perhaps as a result of standing on something (I did stand on a thorn around the same time that went in quite deep) or perhaps repetitive strain of some sort... who knows! I just hope that two months of big ugly supportive shoes will do the trick!

It has been almost two years of sesamoid pain for me - and I see no relief in sight. It is extremely depressing: no tennis, no basketball, no jump rope, no boxing, no hiking. It makes me very upset. I've tried three doctors, three pairs of orthotics, injections, ice. MRI shows a persistent fracture and eventually I think surgery to remove BOTH bones is going to be needed. :-(

My sesamoiditis is almost gone and I'll list below what helped. I didn't have a fracture, just really bad pain where I couldn't walk on it. Went to doctor, he told me to get arch supports. Wore arch supports and it improved a little, I continued working out, but was still in a lot of pain. This lasted 4 weeks, then I went back to the doctor 10 days ago. Doctor said I need to take 6 weeks off running and martial arts. I cannot imagine not working out for six more weeks, so I decided to take this injury seriously and a week later it is 95% better. Here is what I did:

1) Wear comfortable tennis shoes every day, put arch supports in them. I bought "Happy Feet" from the Kaiser pharmacy.
2) Stop working out! To a certain degree it felt to me like working out didn't make it any worse, but I guarantee you that you won't get better unless you stop all exercise for at least a week, maybe two. After a week you can start to reintroduce some things, like carefully riding a stationary bike without bending your toes, or weights and machines at the gym. Basically you need to stop all exercises that require bending or pushing off of the ball of your feet.
3) Get a gel metartasal pad!!! I ordered one on Amazon, it came with a toe loop, I cut this loop off because it hurt my toe and wore it under a snug pair of socks every day. After two days of wearing this pad my pain was almost completely gone.
4) Ice the area. Fill up a large water bottle with water and put it in the freezer. Roll your foot over this bottle for about 20 minutes a few times a day.
5) Take Alieve. This stuff is pretty harsh on your stomach, so don't take too much, I only took one a day.
6) Try not to bend your toes when you walk. Walk with a flat foot.
7) Use a hand held massager on the area a couple times a day for about 10-20 minutes.

I have been doing all of the above for about 10 days and I can now put full pressure back on my foot while walking. Yea!! I will continue to take it easy with the exercise and wear my tennis shoes and the pad for a few more weeks.

I was wondering, mld, if you have been able to return to martial arts? I've had sesmoiditis in the past and have been wearing shoes with inserts, etc. or years. I would really like to go back into martial arts with my kids, but I'm a little afraid of a major flare-up. Do you have any suggestions? Do you think wrapping my foot or wearing training shoes would help?

I have been told I have sesamoiditis.  I remember waking up and the ball of my foot was bruised 2/5/11.   Ironically I had not run at all the week just prior to this because of a severe ice and snow storm.  But I did do a lot of cleaning that week and do remember stepping on something, a toy or something.  I could not run on it but could walk on it.  I have had 2 sets of xrays and an MRI.  Two doctors told me I have arthritis in my foot.   A sports medicine doctor said sesamoiditis as well as the foot doctor.  No fracture.  The foot doctor had a custom foot insert made which is junk.  It seems to irritate it more.  What a waste.

Sesamoditis WILL go away. This is what you MUST DO:

I am Physical Therapist and very athletic person. I had sesamoditis for myself and I want to share my knowledge to help you.
The pain was completely gone within 3 weeks.

1. REST REST REST. If you are runner, dancer... take some time off and allow healing process.
2. ICE MASSAGE (not ice pack). Use an ice cube to massage your foot for 10-15 minutes daily (before sleep).
3. BUY/WEAR flat and stiff bottom shoes. Best are tennis and cross training shoes. ( NB, Nike).
4. BUY/WEAR metatarsal sleeve to unweighted big toe area. I recommend: FlexaMed-Metatarsal-Sleeve.
Walking will not be the most comfortable but your foot will adjust to it. Most important : you will walk !
5. TAPE YOUR BIG TOE to immobilize joint, daily. Read this article and watch video how to do it.
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Hi everyone,

I have some advice to share and some questions to ask you all.

I've been dealing with pain in the ball of my left foot, but NOT taking it seriously for over 6 years. I'm pretty young (26) so I always thought I'd outrun it / get over it. So I still wore heels, hard flat shoes, and jogged a lot.
In December 2011, being in pain as usual I still decided to train for a 10-miler. I completely messed up my left foot. It hasn't healed since then and still hurts, and I can no longer exercise on my feet (almost 4 months now). To make matters worse, I've been putting all of the pressure on my right foot and developed the same pain in my right foot now. Great...

WHAT HELPS MY PAIN:
Metatarsal sleeves take pressure off of the ball of the foot and definitely help. Just make sure it doesnt go under the ball of your foot.
Arch support in the shoe.
I don't see how a hard flat insole is good for this -- so I recommend shoes that are soft on the inside.
Massaging and stretching my feet, doing strengthening exercises helps.
Elevation.
Rest.
And I can still swim, which is great.
I'm conflicted about the icing technique because I have poor circulation in my feet (and hands) and they all hurt more when they are very cold.

POTENTIAL TREATMENTS - has anyone tried this?
Calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin C, and omega 3 krill oil supplements?
Platelet-rich plasma injections (PRP)?
Sesamoidectomy?
Graft/fat pad placement?
EBI Bone Growth machine?
Electro-acupuncture, acupuncture, acupressure, deep tissue massage?

I found online that some people are prone to hyper-mobile joints and if you combine that with bony/skinny high-arched feet you are likely to develop sesamoiditis/tendinitis.

Moral of my story is DO NOT ignore your pain or try to toughen it out. You'll end up more hurt and out of commission for who knows how long. And if the first specialist you see doesn't help (like my first orthopedic surgeon) find another one. I already have two appointments scheduled with foot orthopedist and a podiatrist. And a long list of questions and possible treatments to ask about.
Be proactive, be smart.

I too ignored my own toe pain for 6 years and it was only when I started corrective action for my knees (which also became injured) that my sesamoditis became healed.

What worked for me was cycling daily for 45 minutes on a stationary bike. A complete heal occurred in about 3 months

I've had pain since July and ignored it. Very sharp pain in the day when I put pressure on it.  It got so bad that it never stopped hurting, just changed to dull and throbbing at night and kept me awake.   I was just diagnosed with sesamoiditous in Sept. When I saw an orthopedist, he gave me a cortizone shot and put me in a "boot" for 3 weeks.  While there was some relief the first week especially at night, it seems to be hurting more as I finish the second week.  He told me not to take anti-infammatory drugs.  I've found that ice just makes it hurt more....  I'm also having hip pain from walking weird.  My whole job is hiking on uneven ground.  Has anyone found a good brand of hiking boots that might help more than others? 

Thanks so much for this post. I have dealt with foot pain for 3 months now. One podiatrist said I had two hairline fractures and put me in a boot. My foot started hurting in the boot after two weeks. I went to my regular doctor and he said there were no fractures, radiologist and 2nd podiatrist said the same thing. The second podiatrist said it was a pinched nerve and gave me two cortisone shots 4 weeks apart. The second one made it much worse. I finally went to my local shoe store and the gentleman there thought I had sesmoiditis. All of the posts here are exactly what I have experienced. I ended up buying two new pair of shoes with inserts adjusted to take the pressure off of my foot. One day after hopping around on crutches, my left foot is much better, but the added pressure on my right foot has caused the same condition on the right foot. I am going to try all of the suggestions from the physical therapist and go back to my chiropractor to get some ultrasound on both feet. Thanks again - this post confirmed the answer I received when I prayed. I just didn't like hearing it. :) Many blessings to all who are suffering with the condition.

i went to a pediatrist as well, and he told me to go see a physiotherapist . When i went to see the physiotherapist he gave me a couple of excersices to do with my feet that will help it go away and they did help but he also said that it takes a long time to get rid of sesamoiditous so mabe next time you go to your pediatrist you should talk to him about going to a physio.. i hope this helps you :D

My 9 year old daughter was diagnosed with sesamoiditis recently. She had what we thought was an injury in one foot about 9 months ago and then her other foot flared up this past week which lead her ortho Dr to diagnose the sesamoiditis. I have many questions and concerns. She is very active. She plays softball and soccer year round and on top of that she is always on the go. My child is never still. After reading many post by older people and the reoccurance most experience I am at a lost as to what to do for my child. She complains with pain a lot but there has only been 2 times that it has actually stopped her. Has anyone had the surgery to remove the bones? Also, has anyone had a child diagnosed with this? She is currently in a boot and on crutches to try to minimize her activity and to give it time to heal. She is also taking motrin 3 times a day. The Dr sent her for labs to check for rheumatoid arthritis and other blood disorders. My worries is my daughter is going to have to deal with this the rest of her life. Any words of advice would be greatly appreciated.