Will sesamoiditis go away or is this forever?

I wrote a lot more than what is displayed. I'll follow up again next week.DG

TSR- my sesamoiditis started from wearing hiking boots to do tedious ranch work on rocky, uneven surfaces and walking long distance on a partly gravel road. I've been visiting a chiropractor twice a week, then down to once a week. It feels like the pain would get better, then go back to the same pain, only a little different. I went a little over a week without taping or wearing a ball of foot pad and it was too soon. I am now back to taping the pad to my foot every day and taking meriva anti-inflammatories. As long as I keep my foot taped and in flat shoes, it feels better. I"m getting married in November and I've accepted that I'll be wearing flats, and that's okay. I just want it to go away. At first, the treatments we barely noticeable, now they are excruciatingly painful!!! Another week goes by and I hope and pray it feels better than the previous week--dg.

Been awhile but here I am. The MRI showed that my medial sesamoid appears "chronically injured" and "degenerative". Also, the 1st MTP joint (where the big toe meets the foot) looked beaten up but not quite as bad. The MRI results were inconsistent with the extreme symptoms in the entire ball of my foot and all of the toes. Everything that should have been making my symptoms better, was making it worse (rest, ice, offloading, not using the foot at all for anything, using an iwalk etc). Finally, I asked my podiatrist what could possibly be happening. He mentioned CRPS and that's when it dawned on me that it was CRPS. It hadn't occurred to me before because my pain level wasn't nearly as high as patients that I see with CRPS. The acupuncture was keeping it low(er). Keeping a limb and/or extremity immobilized is a risk factor for developing CRPS. I know how to treat it because of the work I do. One must use the affected body part as normally as possible. With an injury, this can be difficult to navigate. But I just walked on it best I could and in @48 hrs I was almost back to normal (except for the original problem, of course). So now I don't know what to do with the medial sesamoid trouble. The bone is probably not going to get better. It hurts and I don't know what to do about shoes. Offloading with the orthotics seemed to be the trigger for the CRPS but it could just be a coincidence. CRPS is a major complication with this. If I have surgery to remove the sesamoid, it is a big risk for another episode of CRPS. I desperately want to run again. Winter is coming and I can't ride my bike for exercise. Relying on swimming at the Y is a pain. I haven't seen the podiatrist in a few months but I have an appointment soon. I will update after that.

I have had a mild pain/ache since end of January. Finally made it to a podiatrist in June diagnosed with x-ray for sesmoiditis possible stress fracture, I have 3 sesmoids. I was given an aircast and wearing it pretty much for three months. The pain went away and came back when I was still in an aircast and got an MRI. I have also been having more pain on the side of my toe, at the joint, then the ball of my foot. The MRI showed the sesmoiditis/stress fracture and inflammation and a ligament was involved contributing to the pain on the side of my toe, they didn't tell me what exactly was wrong with the ligament. I was given a cortisone shot at the joint two weeks ago and could barely walk for a few days. I was given the ok to try my foot without the boot but the pain is the same and still there, so my cortisone shot lasted two weeks.

Now I'm thinking of asking the podiatrist about not putting any weight on my foot. I have a job where we are always on our feet and walking which isn't helping my healing but even with my boot I've been lugging it around and dealing with the pain/inconvenience.

What is CRPS? I am DG and you can see some of my posts within this thread. I have had this pain since June and it is JUST NOW starting to feel like it's getting better. Incompletely agree with you regarding not immobilizing the foot and to use it as normal as possible. Hard to do when it hurts all the time! I found a pair loafers that worked with my wardrobe and kept my foot taped until I went to bed at night. I also had 5 treatments with a chiropractor who specializes in fascial distortion modeling. I also bought several roller balls to treat myself at home and did my own FDM if I couldn't see the Chiro or needed some relief. Other than that, I hobbled and limped along with a flat foot for 2 months careful not to overuse my foot, or wear anything that resembled anything over 1 inch. The pad helped take the pressure off the bones. Today, I am walking without the pad in flat shoes, but am able to walk without limping!! The pain has moved to big to joint ligaments and is so much tolerable. I work on it using FDM methods and I feel like I will be able to be 100 percent in a few more weeks. I sure hope so anyway. Ithink having a boot or cast keeps the inflammation concentrated in the area. One thing is for sure, it is a very stubborn and persistent injury. I wish you quick healing very soon--DG.

Could you please describe or link these FDM methods?

I believe the moderator removes links, and there really isn't a whole lot of information on the internet about what the process involves. I found out about FDM on this blog and am forever grateful that I did. My therapy included direct, steady pressure on the sesamoid bones, rubbing the fascia on the instep of the foot, pressure on other ligaments and bones and scraping. It's a very intense and painful process, but it seems to move the inflammation. There was other work done but is very hard to describe. Since she is a chiropractor, she adjusted my back, neck and hips that were out of whack due to the overcompensation of the limping and shuffling. It was a very helpful process for me. Took a while, but I'm still very, very careful as it is not 100% healed yet. I hope this helps--DG.

Hey, DG! I also accidentally posted as "guest" but I'm "PainfulpodsPape". CRPS stands for "Complex Regional Pain Syndrome". It is rare thankfully, a mysterious malfunction of the nervous system that happens after injury + immobilization. In my clinic, the most common scenario is: a person sustained a traumatic injury usually minor like a fracture but ranges from minor to serious, they need a brace or cast and then suddenly or maybe gradually there's a major increase in the injury response symptoms that is WAY out of proportion to the severity of the actual injury. The pain is off the charts. It is usually listed at the top of any pain scale (above childbirth and kidney stones). If the limb/extremity is not used normally as soon as possible, the condition worsens and spreads through the limb, sometimes to the other limb! I actually just came back from seeing my podiatrist. Hadn't seen him for @5 months and he was pleased with my progress. I told him I want to run again and feel that I could with proper footwear and maybe offloading if necessary and if the CRPS isn't triggered. I still do have pain but not serious. He took new films and did see that the sesamoids are darker than the healthy foot's sesamoids. That means the blood flow may not be as good. But he said I can try running and since I have run a tiny bit and done tons of walking in my crocs without much trouble, he recommended I try Hokas for running shoes and another pair for normal use. Winter is coming to Minnesota and Crocs are not going to cut it. I believe that I have done some irreversible damage to the sesamoids and 1st metatarsophalangeal joint, thanks to continuing to run in shoes that were not good for my feet. Now I have to live with the consequences of ignoring my body. It has been a theme in my life to treat my body with disrespect like it is my enemy. This is a lesson the universe has been trying to teach me repeatedly. Now that I am in my 40s, I am realizing the effects of long term body abuse. A body will not handle abuse forever.

How do you find someone specializing in FDM? I've searched any to no success. Sigh. Pgh pa area
LM

I'm sorry for the delay- I've been planning my wedding that is scheduled for Nov. 5. I'm sorry to report that I am still dealing with sesamoiditis, however, I've had it long enough to know that if I fail to tape the pad to my foot, I end up at Pain Level 8, whereas, with the pad I'm at Pain Level 4. I am not doing the FDM treatment anymore, only because I had other expenses that were draining my wallet! So, I will walk down the aisle in very low rise heels with a taped foot. Also, I purchased two foot wraps for cold therapy and for heat therapy. I found them online and decided start my own FDM therapy in conjunction with head/cold therapy. There are changes in the pain location, so I have to wonder if it is on the slow-road to recovery. The pain used to be localized in the sesamoid bone area only (ball of foot). Today, and for the past few weeks the pain is on the side of the foot, similar to where a bunion might form. It is also in the upper joint of the big toe. Strange, right? Totally gone from the ball of foot to the side and toe area. I sure do hope it's on it's way out of my life so I can get on with my life. Funny how I never cared to exercise or run before like I do now!

"LM"-- I found a chiropractor that specializes in FDM therapy. It was extremely helpful for me-- but, I'm still dealing with it. How long have you been dealing with sesamoiditus?

"PainfulPods"-- thanks so much for your reply and information for CRPS. How are you doing? Have you gotten any relief or made any progress? I totally hear you on listening to your body. At my age (early 50s) I can't get away without listening to the ol' body anymore. BTW, are you a doctor? Your writing suggests that either you are a doctor or are well-liked in the medical community.

Take care everyone! I'll check in after next week! --DG

I meant to say "well-linked" not well-liked. --dg

Why didn't you just get the boot your self online? Why keep paying co-pay every time your see the DOC??

It's a screwed up system. I went to the Podiatrist with sesamoiditis. When I first saw him I had no clue what I had.. I knew it was just pain on the ball of the foot.

He is smart and knowledgeable to know what it is. But first of course they want to be by the books and give you the orthotics because this an easy option for everybody to try and you have to follow up with the doctor that means dish out another co pay for the visit. Well orthotics didn't work. Now my options is to get into a damn cam boot. Well why didn't he try that in the first place.

They know what works and doesn't from experience. I am wearing the boot for second week in a row now and it's more painful than before and the swelling has gotten worse!

My only option will be to get off the foot that's what he said when I called him and complained that my knee hurts from the boot! Hellooo..! why didn't you tell me about the damn side effects from wearing the boot. But this is an easy options to sell for them!

I am considering getting scooter and taking FMLA from work for at least 4 weeks. From my research the only thing that will works is REST! Oh yes and I am not going to my podiatrist to get the scooter I will purchase a used one my own on so I don't have to pay another co pay.

Good luck to all of your and have a speedy recovery!!

I got worse from the cam boot also because it put pressure right in the painful area! I honestly cannot understand why this is a step in the treatment protocol of sesamoiditis. I decided that the only option for me was to be off of the foot completely, too, just as you're deciding. Unfortunately, it caused me to develop CRPS. Also, the problem came right back when I got on my foot again. One thing I want to mention is the iWalk instead of a scooter. It is much easier to live your life. I found it invaluable since I'm single and live alone/run a clinic by myself. While you're staying off of your foot, watch for signs of CRPS even though it's a rare syndrome. My advice to people dealing with sesamoiditis is to get an MRI if it's covered. Also, it seems that the best thing to do is try to find a combination of footwear and offloading device(s) that work best for keeping the affected bones/joints from harm. I ended up causing the medial sesamoid to be arthritic as well as the 1st metatarsophalangeal joint. No coming back from that. I still run but not long distances and it's a gamble. It has taken a lot of trial and error to find the right shoes and padding.

Hello! PainfulPods here again. I am in a similar place to where you are. I have pain that varies with how well I am able to offload and not cause too much aggravation. I'm still running but can't as far or as frequently as I used to. As an acupuncturist, I'm in a unique position to find what works within my scope of practice. Distal acupuncture (putting needles in areas far from the pain that have a direct relationship to the area, nervous system/meridian theory-wise) definitely helps with the pain. I started getting into doing very limited acupuncture near the painful area by doing motor point release in the muscles related to the pain (Flexor Hallucis for me). That has helped a lot. The only time that I see benefit to acupuncture treatment near the site of pain, is for the purpose of stimulating a motor point and causing a muscle to release. Otherwise, distal acupuncture by a licensed acupuncturist who understands channel theory is best.