u/bostonian7

I’m wondering if anyone has had what was diagnosed as sesamoiditis that ultimately turned out to be an issue with the flexor hallucis longus (FHL) tendon.

I’ve been dealing with intermittent mild-to-moderate pain (rarely more than a 3) underneath/around the ball of my foot near the sesamoids. An MRI in June showed an intersesamoidal ligament tear, minimal edema around the sesamoids and a small 1st MTP joint effusion. There was no fracture.

My orthopedic doctor thinks the main issue is irritation around the lateral sesamoid. He didn’t think the intersesamoidal ligament finding was clinically significant and didn’t think I had a turf toe/plantar plate-type injury. The current treatment has been a dancer’s pad/custom orthotic and PT.

Since early June, I’ve gone through several cycles of irritation/pain to weeks of pain-free activity — going for so long that I thought the issue had resolved itself. Sometimes the pain can come and go in the course of the day with no rhyme or reason.

What makes me question the diagnosis is how oddly the symptoms behave:

I cannot replicate the pain by pressing on the sesamoid area.

Walking seems to aggravate it more than anything, but sometimes I’ll get twinges of pain at rest.

I’ve taken up swimming since I’ve dialed back running. Sometimes kicking results in mild pain.

Running doesn’t really hurt it, even though I would expect running to aggravate sesamoiditis.

The pain can be intermittent and sometimes feels more nerve-like than like a straightforward structural injury.

I don’t have the typical constant pain I associate with a significant sesamoid injury.

I’m curious if anyone else has experienced something similar.

I’ve been dealing with intermittent pain around my left sesamoids since June. MRI showed an intersesamoidal ligament tear, minimal edema around the sesamoids and a small 1st MTP joint effusion. But thankfully no stress fracture.

My ortho felt that the main issue was irritation underneath the lateral sesamoid. He didn’t think the ligament finding was clinically significant enough to represent a turf toe/plantar plate tear, and he wasn’t recommending that I completely stop activity (I walk, run and swim).

My current treatment plan is a dancer’s pad, a custom orthotic (coming soon), and PT focused on FHL mobility. My PT has also mentioned dry needling as a possible treatment.

For anyone who has tried it: Did dry needling actually make a noticeable difference?

I just went to my first practice in over 20 years. It felt great to be back in the water, but unfortunately, the kicking seems to have aggravated the sesamoiditis pain in at the base of my left toe that I’ve been dealing with off and on over the past few months. That is what motivated me to get back in the water — swimming is low-impact and wouldn’t worsen my pain, or so I thought.

I’ve had an MRI (thankfully no fracture) and am under the care of a sports orthopedic doctor, who cleared me to swim. At its worst, the pain seemed to radiate into my upper arch and lasted several days. It’s started to improve — just in time for my next practice.

Pushing off the wall surprisingly didn’t hurt. What hurt, however, was kicking, especially when using a kickboard. I could use a buoy to avoid kicking, but I’d rather use my legs.

I’m curious if anyone else has swam with a similar injury. I’d appreciate to hear your experience!

I run and walk a lot and have had off-and-on sesamoiditis-like pain in my left toe since early June. An MRI showed “subacute to chronic appearing tear of the intersesamoidal ligament of the great toe” (thankfully no fracture), but my sports ortho wasn’t alarmed or even slightly concerned by it and said exercise likely wouldn’t make it worse. I’m still starting PT later this month and am wearing a dancer’s pad at all times.

Twice since the pain flared up, it has subsided to the point where I thought the pain was gone for good. But it’s come back, seemingly unprovoked. Strangely, running has never aggravated it, likely because I land on my mid foot. Walking has been more painful.

Still, I’ve cut my running back. Today, I joined a masters swim team for practice, thinking that swimming would be a great low-impact cross-training exercise.

I was worried I wouldn’t be able to push off the wall, but I was able to do that without pain. Swimming freestyle wasn’t painful. What was actually painful was kicking with a kickboard. I assume because I was kicking harder. And now, hours later, the big toe pain is back.

Has this happened to anyone else who’s tried swimming? I can understand not being able to push off. But just regular kicking? I was so excited to get back into swimming. It’s so frustrating.

I run and walk a lot and have had off-and-on sesamoiditis-like pain in my left toe since early June. An MRI showed “subacute to chronic appearing tear of the intersesamoidal ligament of the great toe” (thankfully no fracture), but my sports ortho wasn’t alarmed or even slightly concerned by it and said exercise likely wouldn’t make it worse. I’m still starting PT later this month and am wearing a dancer’s pad at all times.

Twice since the pain flared up, it has subsided to the point where I thought the pain was gone for good. But it’s come back, seemingly unprovoked. Strangely, running has never aggravated it, likely because I land on my mid foot. Walking has been more painful.

Still, I’ve cut my running back. Today, I joined a masters swim team for practice, thinking that swimming would be a great low-impact cross-training exercise.

I was worried I wouldn’t be able to push off the wall, but I was able to do that without pain. Swimming freestyle wasn’t painful. What was actually painful was kicking with a kickboard. I assume because I was kicking harder. And now, hours later, the big toe pain is back.

Has this happened to anyone else who’s tried swimming? I can understand not being able to push off. But just regular kicking? I was so excited to get back into swimming. It’s so frustrating.

I have a painful blind pimple/cyst just below my lower lip that is very painful, especially when talking. I also have a big event this weekend, so I’d like to get rid of it before then. Topical treatments never work for me, so I’m considering reaching out to my dermatologist to see if they would give me a cortisone injection. Has anyone had one in that area (between the lip and the chin)? I know there is an inherent risk for indentation with these injections.

Links to YouTube videos and/or tape to purchase are much appreciated.

My MRI report found that I had a “subacute to chronic appearing tear of the intersesamoidal ligament of the great toe” — I’ve searched and haven’t found many instances of this in others’ posts. For anyone who has had a intersesamoidal ligament tear, how was your treatment plan and recovery?

DISCLAIMER: I am seeing a doctor but have not had a chance to review these MRI results yet. I am just curious if anyone else has experienced this diagnosis. I know it should not be taken as medical advice.

I have been dealing with what I thought was sesamoiditis. The pain is intermittent but is in a flare up right now. Below is the MRI report, but I’m unable to determine what this would be — sesamoiditis or turf toe? Has anyone else had this diagnosis?

LIGAMENTS: Anterior and posterior tibiofibular ligaments: Intact. Anterior and posterior talofibular ligaments, and the calcaneofibular ligament: Intact. Deltoid and spring ligaments: Intact. Lisfranc ligament: Intact.

TENDONS: Achilles: Intact. Peroneus longus and brevis: Intact peroneus longus tendon. Longitudinal split tear of the peroneus brevis tendon extending throughout much of its inframalleolar course. Intact distal insertion. Posterior tibialis, flexor digitorum longus, and flexor hallucis longus: Intact. Anterior extensor tendons: Intact.

CARTILAGE: No high-grade chondral abnormality.

MARROW: No fracture. No diffuse marrow infiltrating process. Faint T2 hyperintensity within the first metatarsal head/neck junction adjacent to the sesamoids. Subcentimeter foci of T2 heterogeneity within the calcaneus, at the base of the anterior process on its dorsal aspect. Favor intraosseous ganglion cyst.

OTHER: Sinus tarsi: No signal abnormality. Tarsal tunnel: No space-occupying mass. Plantar fascia: Intact. Soft tissues: There is discontinuity between the intersesamoidal ligament and the lateral sesamoid, with minimal adjacent T2 hyperintense signal within the soft tissues.

I was recently diagnosed with a “partial intersesamoid ligament tear” via MRI and am dealing with intermittent but manageable pain. I’m a runner (20-30 miles/week) and am thankfully still able to run mostly pain-free, but I’m interested in incorporating more cross-training into my workout regimen.

I swam competitively in high school and have always wanted to get back in the pool — this injury might be the motivation I needed.

Has anyone else started swimming as a result of this injury? Has it exacerbated the pain? Helped? I the push off the wall would need to be modified, but I would think the other motions would be fairly low-impact.

I received the following MRI report and am having a difficult time deciphering the results (I’m seeing my doctor later this week, but I’m impatient).

Oddly, my pain has mostly resolved. I am able to run and walk with minimal pain (maybe 1-2 at most). I’ve been wearing a dancer’s pads in my Hoka Cliftons.

1. Subacute to chronic appearing tear of the intersesamoidal ligament of the great toe. Very minimal edema in the adjacent first metatarsal head/neck junction is favored to be reactive. There is a small first MTP joint effusion.

2. Longitudinal split tear of the peroneus brevis tendon as detailed above.

3. Small tibiotalar and talonavicular joint effusions..

FINDINGS:

ALIGNMENT: No dislocation.

LIGAMENTS: Anterior and posterior tibiofibular ligaments: Intact. Anterior and posterior talofibular ligaments, and the calcaneofibular ligament: Intact. Deltoid and spring ligaments: Intact. Lisfranc ligament: Intact.

TENDONS: Achilles: Intact. Peroneus longus and brevis: Intact peroneus longus tendon. Longitudinal split tear of the peroneus brevis tendon extending throughout much of its inframalleolar course. Intact distal insertion. Posterior tibialis, flexor digitorum longus, and flexor hallucis longus: Intact. Anterior extensor tendons: Intact.

CARTILAGE: No high-grade chondral abnormality.

MARROW: No fracture. No diffuse marrow infiltrating process. Faint T2 hyperintensity within the first metatarsal head/neck junction adjacent to the sesamoids. Subcentimeter foci of T2 heterogeneity within the calcaneus, at the base of the anterior process on its dorsal aspect. Favor intraosseous ganglion cyst.

OTHER: Sinus tarsi: No signal abnormality. Tarsal tunnel: No space-occupying mass. Plantar fascia: Intact. Soft tissues: There is discontinuity between the intersesamoidal ligament and the lateral sesamoid, with minimal adjacent T2 hyperintense signal within the soft tissues. Joint effusion: Small tibiotalar and talonavicular joint effusions. Small first MTP joint effusion.

I’ve found some relief by using 1/4” gel danced pads with my ProTech Power Step full length orthotics. However, the gel pads lose their stick fairly quickly, and it’s very hard to put my sneakers on without moving the pad. Is there a specific type of glue or other adhesive that would make it stick better? I’ve heard of people putting them under their orthotics, but these are so thin that I don’t think I’d benefit from them as much.

I am in the very early stages (2 weeks) of dealing with toe pain, likely sesamoiditis. The x-ray did not show a fracture, so we are hoping insurance will approve an MRI to make sure we aren’t missing something.

Money and time are tight right now, so I’d prefer to hold off on physical therapy for now. However, I’m curious if anyone has any stretches or beginner-level strengthening exercises they’ve found to be helpful that I could do at my desk?

Any recommendations are much appreciated.

I developed what I assume is sesamoiditis 2 weeks ago, and a felt dancer’s pad saved my long vacation full of walking and running — I thought the issue had resolved itself. The pain as completely gone…until I got home and went a day without wearing the pad. I ordered a pair of Hoka Bondi 9s, and after a few hours of wearing them with the pad, my entire foot is throbbing, mostly the upper foot. I assume this is because the shoe is too tight. I am wearing PowerStep ProTech insoles for a separate foot issue, so I’d rather not do away with those. I’ve loosened the laces as much as I can. I’m not sure what to do. Has anyone else experienced this issue before?

For context: https://www.reddit.com/r/sesamoid/s/B9z43yUuJL

Yesterday on my morning run, I developed pain that seemed to align with sesamoiditis or turf toe. It was uncomfortable for much of yesterday, but I was also hyper-focused on it and constantly flexing my toe.

This morning when I woke up and walked around, it seemed pretty normal. Maybe slightly uncomfortable but nothing that would hinder my ability to walk normally (even barefoot, which I know is not advised).

I went for a 2-mile run on the treadmill and wasn’t able to replicate the pain I had yesterday. Everything felt normal. Now I’m on the stationary bike because I don’t want to play with fire.

I was doing a lot of calf raises earlier in the week to fend off some Achilles pain. I’m wondering if that may have inflamed the tendons temporarily.

For those of you dealing with this, are you able to run without pain? I’m debating going to my orthopedic doctor. But if he asks if it hurts to run, I can’t say it does. I want to get ahead of this if it does develop into something chronic, but I’d rather save the doctor bill if I can.

At the start of my run this morning, I developed moderate (5 out of 10) pain on the ball of my left foot, near the base of my big toe. It faded during the run but returned later this morning while walking. I typically run 20-30 miles per week and am between races right now, so I haven't made any recent modifications to my training regimen. The only possible cause I can think of is that I started doing calf raises throughout the day a few days ago to address mild achilles pain that was developing in my right heel. Calf raises do put a lot of pressure on the balls of the feet, at least mine.

My panicked Google searches led me to sesamoiditis and turf toe as potential causes.

For those of you who have been diagnosed with sesamoiditis, how were you able to distinguish it from turf toe since the symptoms appear to be so similar?

I read that canceling Walmart+ may trigger an automatic 50% off offer (which is what I initially paid by signing up during an offer period). Unfortunately that offer was not presented to me when I canceled. Is there another way to get it 50% off. Money is tight right now.