A sesamoid bone means it has no ligament attachment, it’s just embedded in a tendon. Sesamoid bones are in several joints of the body and the ball of your foot, below the big toe joint, is where two small ones are located.
The sesamoid bone of the foot helps provide leverage and absorbs some of the weight during activities like walking, running and jumping. Because of the increased amount of repetitive pressure placed on this foot bone, sesamoid injuries are a fairly common among athletes.
The basic types of sesamoid injuries include:
- turf toe ~ overextension of big toe
- fracture ~ break, hairline fracture of a sesamoid
- sesamoiditis ~ chronic inflammation of tissue surrounding sesamoid
And a sesamoid injury is one of the causes for metatarsalgia.
Treatment for sesamoid injuries starts with refraining from the fitness activity that caused the injury. Next, a couple of the possible treatments that may be used while your sesamoid injury heals:
- turf toe~ toe taped to adjacent toe to relieve tension
- sesamoiditis ~ padding placed in the shoe to cushion sesamoid area
- fracture ~ immobilization via cast w/crutches or removable walking cast
And this type of injury may take several months to heal completely.
NSAIDs and analgesics, such as ibuprofen or aspirin, may be recommended to relieve pain and inflammation. Extreme discomfort may require a cortisone injection.
Physical therapy, orthotic device, ultrasound or surgery are other sesamoid treatment options as well.
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