Will sesamoiditis go away or is this forever?

thanks for the thorough info Burnt Marshy.
well it would seem i come under the tendonosis then as 15 months of recovery i still get tight inflamed bruised feeling around my main metatarsal on my foot that highlighted after any sort of running outside.
ive stopped running for the last 1 month as i felt pain and like you say pain is bad (as much as i wanted to ignore it, but look where that got me...) but i miss running soooo much, i now even have 2 new pairs of running shoes (trail and road)
but shoe choices are key, most of my new shoe collection consists of low heel (less than 6mm heel to toe difference) and minimal padding on the soles as I have found softer padded soles to weirdly enough make it worse.
but my new favourite is the xero shoe, feels like your walking barefeet so toe splay is natural, feet breathe and people have run 100 milers in them.
biking/swimming is not that bad i guess, but the worst part about this injury still is that it hurts when i surf as all my weight is loaded onto that 1 area of my foot.... maybe this is wear i require some special padded sock :P

I diagnosed myself with sesamoitidis 2 weeks ago thanks to people on the internet. After a nagging pain of about a month, turning into a cold blue purple swelling and more pain. I went to one of my practitioners. Actually she did not examine my foot, just looked at it and touched it, that was it. She directly prescribed Diclofenac 3x50 mg for 2 weeks. Also she told me to keep on moving with the foot.

After 2 days it got worse, and i randomly went to my other practitioner. She again did not examine the foot, looked at it and (probably because I have a slight bunion on that side) said it was a form of degenerative arthritis and had me do some bloodtests (which revealled nothing eventually). She specifically ordered me to keep on using the foot. Because the swelling and pain got worse and my big toe got stiff, and now I couldn't walk on the foot anymore i went to the 3d practitioner that same week, a junior doctor (no other available). He again did not examine my foot, even wanted me to take prednison, but after he pinched me on my small bunion, and this did not hurt at all, told me to keep on taking the diclofenac. He said if the pain isn't gone after 2 months I i should consider having the bunion removed. I told him i wanted a shoe so i didn't have to put weight on the front foot, i told him i didnt want to walk on the foot at all anymore, so he made a joke and said: do you want a wheelchair? Well these are dutch practitioners..what a waist..

Anyway i decided on my own to stop walking on the foot, which is not easy for a single mom. And guess what? The foot slowly got better. I also decided to go to a physio, because i still didn't know what I had. For the first time my foot got examined!! He was sure it was not arthritis, or else it would hurt like hell if he pinched the area. It must me a tendon. I was releaved..He also found i pronated too much and sent me to a podotherapist for that. Because i now limped the whole day, the foot was getting better. The podotherapist did tests ( she thought the swellng was a tendon), like flexing my big toe, this was no problem at all, it was superflexible (which seems strange with sesamoiditis). At this point I could walk on the foot again. So i started walking again and after a few days things went really bad. The ball of the foot got so thick I couldn't wear any shoe. I borrowed a pair of crocks from my mother. I walked on my heel and outside of the foot. But this time it did not help and the pain and swelling got worse and worse, it looked like a jack potatoe. I had an appointment with the physio anyway and he examined my foot again. Finally he located the pain: it was the inner sesamoid bone. With this info i googled all day long, and found out I must be having sesamoiditis.It also said everywhere: dont walk on the foot! Use a shoe like a walker to fixate the foot, that's exactly what i wanted and asked a month ago!

So I went to the prac the 4th time, and told her I figured out that I probably had sesamoiditis. She literally asked me what I wanted. I said I want an x-ray and a shoe. She prescribed now a higher dose of Diclofenac and wrote me a prescription to get the shoe at an orthopedic centre. I had the x-ray done the same day and called the assistant: it showed a probable fracture and I should not walk on it. Because it was friday had to wait few days for the next appointment.  The diclofenac did not seem to work, because it began hurting pretty nasty. A friend said that I should stop limping around and sit down. So after 7 days of limping I sat on the couch and put my foot in the air all day long. After 2 days the pain got less. And guess what? The foot slowly got thinner. That monday I went to the orthopedic centre for my shoe and guess what..i had to get the shoe through an orthopedist in the hospital or else it wouldn't be covered by the health insurance. That same day, back to the prac, she called the orthopedist for direct advice. Guess what: his advice was to wear shoes with firm sole, and...he said...this is going to take a long while, 6 weeks is nothing (red. yeah sure if you keep on walking on it). So again no shoe! I was really angry at this point (i pay a lot for health insurance) and got a pair of crutches, although my other foot is starting to hurt now. My foot is still thick, but obviously this is the only way to get better!!

Is this a stupid country concerning health care? I' m starting to believe it...

I have been on an emotional rollercoaster, but this thread has helped me tremendeously. The doctors have given me a hard time, what an arrogance and ignorance. This costs me loads of money too. And I still have a long way going..

I just want to thank you all for sharing your knowledge, advice and experience. I am now confident this is going to heal, despite the doctors.

I've diagnosed myself with sesamoiditis in my flight foot I've had it a long time, didn't no what it was until my friend said she had it and all her symptoms were the same as me, I'm 20 and I work with horses so I'm on my feet all day but what I find helps is to see an osteopath regularly, mine gave me some excersices of which are to scruch a towel up on a wooden floor with my big toe, try writing with your toes and the one I find helps the most is to roll a golf ball on the floor to massage my foot, I also find icing my foot helps and using witch hazel and arnica gel that has been in the fridge helps with the swelling. A couple of years back I went to the doctors with my foot as it was really swollen the doctor just said I'd sprained my big toe and gave me naproxen tablets which kind of took a bit of pain away but they just made me feel rubbish! 

hello . I have a similar comditions as you of sesamoiditis can you please tell me what helped? Thanks

I’m a 30 year old ultimate Frisbee player. I’ve been playing for the last 10 years, usually 3 times a week, plus weekend tournaments in the summer. In September 2013, at the end of the tournament I experienced intense pain in the ball of my foot and could not place weight on my left foot. I had small pains in my foot while playing in the months leading up to it, but did not think much of it.

After September I had an x-ray which showed a stress fracture in the second metatarsal. I rested my foot for 3.5 months and then gradually returned to activity. After 6 weeks back to activity, I started having pain again, and so I reluctantly stopped and have been off it for 2 months. I went back to the doctor and requested a bone scan, which showed “mild osteoarthritis” as well as “sesamoiditis” in my big toe. My doctor yesterday told me that my prognosis is “not positive” – she basically told me that I could never return to my sport, or weight-baring activities. I have been unable to stop crying since the news, I feel like I’m swimming in a dark haze. My doctor took away all my hope, but I want to find it again.

If anyone has any experience specifically with osteoarthritis and sesamoiditis combined, I’d love to hear your story. Thank you, and good luck everyone, this is not an easy thing to deal with.

Hello all, 

 

a podiatrist in London helped me a lot with a made to measure sole. Ray McIntosh at the Lister hospital in London if you want to consult with him.

 

All the best to all of you, Pierre.

MFinally after about 4 months I am able to walk again. It all started half februari 2014, it is now first of juli.

On the Mri, taken about 2 months after the first complaint, it showed that my inner sesamoid did not light up and the orthopedist said it was 'defragmentating', it was dissolving and not healing. Also there were problems with the ligament between the sesamoids.

All that time I had a lot of pain, the foot was very swollen and cold, and i could not wear shoes. They tried to put the foot in a cast twice, but that did not work. I tried to use a Darco orthowedge shoe, but that put too much pressure on the area. My crutches were the best help. Except for doing the most necessary, I was immobile. Everytime I did something (groceries or some household work) with my crutches, I had a lot of pain, like someone hit me with a piece of wood under my foot, a sort of stiffening pain, and I would put my foot up again for hours. Also I was very afraid the bone would dissolve. All this time I went to a fysio. He treated me with ultrasound high frequency. This stimulated the bloodflow. But the area was so tight and sensitive that it was painful, I even stopped the treatment temporarily.  Five weeks after the mri was taken my fysio encouraged me to try standing on the foot again. A week later, to take small steps. In this way I slowly started using my foot again. The foot was still thick but the area was starting to get pink again, from the edges out.  According to my fysio I had some paintrauma (crps) which means that the nerves and tissue are still reacting on old trauma. So I had to work on desensitizing that area. And that worked, but very slowly. I started using the Darco shoe, so I could walk and put most pressure on the heel. I walked unnatural, because the darco shoe was higher, but because I got mobile again, the healing started to speed up. After all, I was using that limb again.

At the moment, now 5 months later, I am walking on my mountain shoes and barefoot at home. But if I walk too much, the whole foot gets thick. This is still a reaction and normal according to my orthopedist.

Advice I can give you: don't panic, this takes months, and even can get worse when you think it can't. Also: go to a good fysio, who can stimulate and support you (also mentally). Don't force healing, your body has it's own pace. Search the balance between loading and unloading constantly, this is a very fine line.

My fysio talked about the piezo electrical effect: by putting light pressure on the area, it gets a certain stimulation to heal. I think that is also what you try to achieve using a bone stimulator (which I also borrowed from the hospital). This is low frequency ultrasound.

My daughter has been battling the same problem for about 3-4 years. She was booted for about 10 weeks and it seemed like her symptoms were better. It has been about 1 year, and she now has the same amount of pain that she previously had before being booted. She plays soccer and tennis, and soccer seems to be worse. I wish I could find a cleat that was better for sesamoid bone issues. I just ordered three different pairs with the cleats in different positions from Nike to try out. She has worn adidas the past few years. Has your daughter found any particular cleats that are better than others? I have seen a podiatrist and an orthopedic surgeon. I am making another appointment with another orthopedic surgeon to see if they have another opinion. She has not had any injections, but I am wondering if that should be the next step.

I have a fractured sesamoid and have been in a boot for a month. Not wanting to jeopardize any progress, how should I proceed with bending my foot and ankle? Thank you for your post.

Hey bud have you had any relief. Mine has been going on for 2 years and while it has gotten better it has not gone away. I've had some success with the using work boots with soles that mold to your feet, but it's still hanging around - any ideas???

I guess I am wondering how I can tell if it is really sesamoiditis at this point, or fat pad atrophy? No swelling anymore, just ongoing pain after 18 months -- can't walk, can't drive, really bony feet. And what does "rest" mean? My doc said to "cut the mileage" so I stopped running 6 miles a day and reverted to walking 2.4. Evidently that was too much, but because there was never any definition of what "cutting the mileage" meant, I thought 2.4 was comparatively little--he meant don't even walk the two blocks to the grocery store. So rest means don't run? Don't walk as much? Don't walk at all?

Just curious, as I've fought this pain for the past 8 years myself......are you at all overweight and/or have high arches....yes for me on both fronts, but I love to dance/kickbox, etc. and hardly can at all anymore, let alone wear a cute shoe, and I was a major shoe fan!!!

I feel your pain, Marta, literally! I'm a 48 yr. old woman in fairly good shape, although I am about 30 lbs overweight. I have very high arches, and have done aerobic classes for 25 yrs. I am now taking a break from all classes, can't wear most shoes without some amount of pain, and am very depressed. I have been to several docs, one said it was broken, one said it was bipartate, not broken. Either way, went in w/a bag of custom orthotics from past 8 yrs totalling over $1.200 and now a doc yesterday recommended total opposite of what other docs did....flat shoes (!), soft sole, and a soft custom (of course! $450!!) orthotic inset, which looks like it will fit into nothing but a tennis shoe, which I only wear to work out! Agh!!! This is so depressing and I see no end to it.

YES. I cannot believe how many times I have been asked what I want. I am NOT a doctor, or a nurse, and I have little to no knowledge of how to heal bones or tendons or anything of the sort. I practically had to beg for my MRI. I had to switch podiatrists to be given a boot and dexamethasone w/ iontophoresis. And all the waiting, waiting, waiting. Months between appointments, unnecessary followups that are just draining me of money and using up my podiatry coverage.
I am 24 and I have been experiencing this right foot pain since February. It now occurs in my left foot as well. I was told to take NSAIDs at first. I wasn't even given a diagnosis until April. I was also told to 'wear a stiff sole' at that appointment in April. Well, my shoes 'wasn't stiff enough' (3 months later I was told this, and THEN given a specific brand). Now I have been in a boot for over a month, and I am getting a bone scan this week (2 xrays already done). Depending on the results, I will need to pay $600+ for custom orthotics, in the HOPE that they will help the symtoms (but what are the causes?) I am also having unexplained lower leg tingling and discoloration, and am trying to prepare for the winter as I was told from my MRI that I got Frostbite last winter (???) and probably have Raynauds.
I feel like I am trying to tie everything together and come up with causes or solutions. I have been told to be patient but it seems like no one can agree on what my diagnosis even is. It is now possibly sesamoiditis AND tendinitis, but it's bilateral so I just sort of feel like my feet have stopped working. I am still dreaming of running again in the future, but first, walking normally would be nice. This thread is giving me some sanity, I will read on! Thank you guys!

-L

im 13 years old and i got from just landing on a hard surface with converse(no soul shoes) they are very delicate. i did my research and you can surgery but their is no telling when it will get better it could get worst but out of all the sites i visited they all have one thing n common rap it up,(ace bandage) and out ice on it or something cold, and if you dont take it easy it ca end up to lead to a sesamoid fracture and that takes a long time to heal. so it all just depends on you it can get better if you take care of it or it can get worse it is up t you.