Sesamoiditis

Sometimes known as the "ball bearings of the foot," the sesamoids are two small bones found beneath the first metatarsal. They can inflame or rupture under the stress of exercise. Sesamoiditis can be relieved with proper shoe selection and orthoses.

We refer to sesamoiditis as the Dancer's Disease since dancers are prone to injuring this bone. Sesamoids are two small bones located just beneath the Great toe, in the ball of the foot. There are small ligaments associated with these bones that become inflamed with overuse. Most treatment is designed around decreasing the inflammation with physical therapy and off loading the area in gait with an accommodative orthotic (shoe insert). For dancers and ballerinas, we fabricate a specialized splint that can be worn in their dance shoes to accommodate this problem. Those bones that do not respond to conservative treatment are removed with no loss of function

Sesamoids that continue to be painful can be removed. This one failed conservative treatments.