Foot Pain Centres
of Leeds

Telephone: 0113 418 0282   

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Sesamoiditis

Sesamoiditis is a painful condition seen commonly in dancers, runners, and cyclists affecting the underside of the big toe joint.

Sesamoids are two pea-sized bones that are embedded in tendons that run in a groove under the big toe that take up 50% of your body weight as you push off.

Increased pressure on these bones due to altered biomechanics can cause them to become:

  • inflamed
  • dislocated
  • fractured

An x ray will confirm the diagnosis

As seen in the image opposite sometimes these individual bones naturally develop as separate boney entities, where each individual sesamoid appears to have a split across the centre, this is not a fracture but known as a bipartite sesamoid.

Treatment for Sesamoiditis:

  • Ice massage
  • Orthotics
  • Steroid injection
  • Footwear alteration
  • Surgery

    Information request

    sesamoid-bones

    fractured-sesamoid

    Fractured sesamoid

     

    bipartite-sesamoid

    Bipartite sesamoid