Are you experiencing pain underneath your big toe? Does the pain increase when walking barefoot? If so, you might be experiencing a common dance injury, sesamoiditis. While we recommend that you come to our office to assess your injury and possible treatments, here is some helpful information to keep you informed about the cause, symptoms, and treatment for sesamoiditis.
Cause: Sesamoid bones are two small bones located underneath the foot near the big toe. Unlike other bones in the body, they are not connected to any other bones. The tendons that control the big toe are located ontop of the seamoid bones. Sesamoiditis occurs when the tendon running between these two small bones becomes inflamed. This inflammation is a type of tendinitis.For dancers, the pressure placed on the foot, especially the ball of the foot, may inflame the tendon and cause sesamoiditis. Demi-pointe strains the sesamoid bones because these types of dances require the sesamoid bones to form a support surface.
Symptoms: Sesamoiditis often results in a pain under the big toe or on the ball of the foot, difficulty bending or stretching the big toe, and swelling or bruising.
Treatments: Sesamoiditis can be treated conversatively, meaning without surgery. While the best thing to do is to discontinue the activitiy that causes sesamoiditis, our office recognizes that this is not always feasible for dancers. Other treatment options include: physician recommended pain and anti-inflamatory medicines, icing the sole of the foot, wearing soft-soled and low heeled shoes, placing cushioning in the shoes to reduce pressure, steriodal medicine injection to reduce swelling. Taping the toe so that it remains slightly downward is also recommended. It may take several months for sesamoiditis to completely subside. While surgery to remove the sesamoid bones is possible, conservative treatments should be completely exhausted before considering surgery.
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