What is sesamoiditis in the foot?
Below the big toe joint are a pair of little bones called the sesamoid bones. These are a part of the tendons in the same manner which the patella bone is in the anterior of the knee. The purpose with the sesamoid bones (and also the patella) is to provide the tendons a more powerful lever to move the hallux joint. Since these sesamoids are under the great toe joint, they may be afflicted by a considerable amount of pressure when walking and playing sport. Sports activities similar to playing tennis where you must use the great toe joint to be able to rotate on puts an enormous amount of force on them. If these kinds of loads tend to be too higher, you can end up with a condition termed sesamoiditis where these tiny sesamoid bones and the tissues around them come to be inflammed. Putting on larger heels footwear in addition puts force around the sesamoid bones and so does needing to stand all day at your workplace, particularly on hard floors.
The signs and symptoms of sesamoiditis are progressively increasing amounts of pain below the great toe joint. When you palpate exactly where these bones are they can be extremely painful. In some cases the sesamoid bones are very prominent because there has been some wasting of the fat protection. Occasionally, particularly if the start of pain is sudden there could be a fracture of one or both of the sesamoid bones. There are a variety of conditions which can impact the big toe joint such as gout or osteoarthritis which also should be taken into consideration whenever assessing someone with discomfort under the big toe.
Once a sesamoiditis has been identified then sesamoiditis treatment typically begins with some kind of reduction in activities or changing them if that is feasible. Getting into well shock absorbing and cushioned footwear is also a helpful plan. There are self adhesive felts that could be stuck to the foot so you can get pressure off the painful spot. Pads can be used on insoles within the shoes. In the long run foot orthotics with pressure relief tend to be very helpful.