How You Develop Sesamoiditis Pain In Your Foot
When Running Causes Pain 
Have you been training hard for an upcoming marathon? Are you a regular runner who has been experiencing pain in the ball of your foot? When this type of pain comes and goes with certain activity it could be due to sesamoiditis. Knowing why this injury happens may help you prevent it from ruining your running routineor your normal activities if youre not a runner.
The issue involves two small, round bones that lie in the tendon under your big toe joint. They work as pulleys to multiply the leverage as you push off for a step, and thus are subject to repeated micro-trauma if you walk or run a lot with misaligned ankle bones overloading the big toe joints. Young people who are active in sports that require side-to-side movements or squatting can be especially at risk.
That trauma eventually adds up, and the sesamoid bones and surrounding tendon can become irritated and inflameda condition called sesamoiditis. They may even fracture from repetitive and excessive pressure. The result is pain, swelling, inflammation, and the inability to walk and run as you normally do.
There are some other contributing factors to sesamoid issues as well. Aging and osteoarthritis can weaken the bones and lead to small stress fractures or tiny spurs that make them more susceptible to injury. The foot type you inherit can also magnify the problem. If your sesamoid bones are unusually large, you may always have problems walking, and if you tend to overpronate, extra pressure is placed on those bones with every step you take.
Treatment for Sesamoiditis
At OttawaFootClinic, we can treat the condition with non-invasive methods including custom orthotics to reduce overload and laser treatments to stop your sesamoiditis pain fast and more, but wouldnt you rather avoid the problem altogether? You can help prevent it by not wearing heels that put pressure on your forefoot or flats that dont support your arch. We can design custom orthotics that will offload the pressure on the sesamoids.
When you notice pain in the ball of your foot, dont delaycome see us right away. Its the best way to keep an occasional annoyance from becoming a chronic, painful issue. Just call our Deakin Street office in Ottawa, ON at (613) 595-9700 to set up your appointment.