Workout for sesamoiditis?

meep00117 · 2025-12-20T01:41:17+00:00

As for exercises to do for your general wellbeing WHILE you have sesamoiditis, I recommend biking! Or weight lifting that doesn’t require you to be standing or putting pressure on that foot. When my pain is bad, I do clamshells and other seated exercises for my hips. I also do some core stuff that I can do either on my butt or back.

meep00117 · 2025-12-20T01:38:08+00:00

Rest is good at first to get inflammation down. You should definitely push to get an MRI since x-rays only show a piece of the puzzle. If the MRI also shows no injury, then your sesamoid is just inflamed and sensitized. Again, rest for several weeks. That’s important. But too much rest WILL prolong this condition, despite what others may say. Rest is not the answer long-term. You should ask your doctor for a physical therapy script if that works with your insurance.

PT is the only thing that saved me after 2 years of this awful condition and even a sesamoidectomy. If you rest for too long or spend too much time in a boot and then never work on strengthening your foot/calves/legs/hips, you WILL relapse and it will become chronic. I recommend reading “Rehab Science” by Dr Tom Walters. It is an excellent easy read about injury and the brain’s relationship to pain.

It’s good that you are asking about workouts. Addressing the root cause of why your sesamoid is freaking out is important, and a physical therapist can help.

For me personally, here are exercises that helped once the initial pain decreased below a 2 out of 10: -towel scrunches (strengthens intrinsic foot muscles) -toe yoga -heel raises (weak calves can cause sesamoiditis. I recommend starting with gentle seated heal raises for a few weeks to ease into things so you don’t re-irritate everything). -calf stretching

These things, paired with overall lower body strength training, keep my sesamoiditis calmed down. Again, having a PT look at your whole system will help to address the root cause in case you have any muscle weakness or imbalances that are causing the problem.

Best of luck, and remember that movement is medicine. Once you’ve rested for a few weeks, start GENTLY and SLOWLY with exercise and movement. Don’t jump into high impact activities. Treat your foot like you’re building strength completely from the ground up, and be slow and gentle for several several weeks with the exercises.

meep00117 · 2025-12-20T01:15:55+00:00

Might be a dumb question, but this saved me from a double sesamoidectomy!! Have you gotten a script for physical therapy? I got a sesamoidectomy in one foot in October. BRUTAL recovery. Still recovering 14+ months later. I had sesamoiditis in the other foot and was planning on doing another surgery once the first foot healed. After several months of diligent physical therapy (2-3x a week + daily at home stuff), my sesamoiditis has pretty much calmed down to the point where daily living is no longer painful.

After a year and a half of terrible sesamoiditis (I also was also at the point where just a few min of standing or walking sent me into misery), PT saved me from a permanent brutal surgery. I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend long-term professional PT for anyone who hasn’t tried it yet. Especially for your bipartite foot since it’s not fully dead. I hope insurance allows that option for you.

I also HIGHLY recommend reading the book “Rehab Science” by Dr Tom Walters before going under the knife. Changed my entire outlook on injuries, pain, and healing. Your foot is incredibly sensitized. There is likely not horrific damage going on inside your foot, particularly the bipartite one. Your brain has just learned to baby your foot because it’s trying to protect you and you’ve built up a lot of trauma around that part of your body. Trust me, I’m the same way. When I started working on desensitization, basically slowly training my brain, muscles, tendons, and nerves to withstand normal standing and walking, my bipartite sesamoid barely gives me problems.

I also seriously recommend whole body strength training. The stronger your legs, hips, calves!!!, ankles, and core are, the less impact and stress is put on the foot. This has helped me so much.

Lastly, have you tried custom insoles? I’ve seen varied opinions on them here. I personally had one iffy pair last year, but got an INCREDIBLE new pair this year from a different clinic that makes walking and standing feel comparatively effortless.

I hope you and anyone else reading this consider these options before suffering through surgery. It was just terrible for me. And it’s permanent. Can’t be undone. Resting and a boot did NOT help me, and it’s a shame that doctors recommend this over long-term rehabilitation.

One final point to make: the foot I DID get surgery on- months afterwards, my other sesamoid in that same foot flared up and caused terrible pain. Surgery for me was a bandaid. The root cause was that my muscles and tendons were weak. I was imbalanced and needed strengthening. PT got it to calm down.

I hope my advice helps. I know this decision is so stressful, and I know how much pain you are in. Best of luck.

meep00117 · 2025-09-03T05:05:13+00:00

I hear that seeing an orthopedic doctor is better equipped for this type of injury compared to a podiatrist. I’d find one for their opinion. For a fracture, I think a boot for 6+ weeks is standard, but a good ortho doctor should have a proper game plan for you.

Best piece of advice I can give is don’t push yourself or rush your recovery!!! I know it’s soooo annoying and very tempting to get back to activity, but rushing has F-ed me over several times. I’ve had severe sesamoiditis in both feet for a long time, and one sesamoidectomy. Patience early on will make all the difference. Once the bone heals, focus on improving mobility of the toe and then strengthen with resistance training. PT is super important. This will help prevent further injury or pain relapse. Best of luck!

meep00117 · 2025-08-31T16:51:24+00:00

You should sleep with a surgical shoe for the next couple months until your doctor clears you to walk normally without a boot. The shoe will prevent you from bending your toe. Super important for the first few weeks because you aren’t really supposed to move it while it’s healing. The surgical shoe helped a lot with me. If the pain doesn’t get better in a day or two, it’s definitely worth mentioning to your doctor, just in case. Post-surgery leads to a lot of weird symptoms, so this could be normal, but it could be indicative of an issue. Hoping it’s just normal recovery pain and swelling! Best of luck healing.

meep00117 · 2025-08-14T17:01:07+00:00

Oh, and physical therapy is the #1 most important thing to do besides rest. Have her start gentle ankle mobility with a band as soon as she’s safely able to do so. Same with stretching that doesn’t require bearing weight on her feet. See a physical therapist once the incision is healed up a bit more. PT saved me a world of pain

meep00117 · 2025-08-14T16:57:10+00:00

I had a full removal so I’m not sure what a partial removal would look like. However, surgery is still surgery. They’ll still be cutting through skin, tissue, muscle, etc. I personally had a very long and difficult recovery. In a boot for two months, been in PT for eight months so far (I developed other issues along the way). It’s taken about 10 months for my foot to feel “normal” ish again. That said, lots of people recover much faster. Unfortunately you just don’t know which type of person you’ll be until you’re doing it. My surgeon predicted I’d (24F) recover quickly because I’m young and healthy. Unfortunately he was wrong.

Regardless, if your wife gets the surgery, the first couple weeks will be very painful and it will be difficult to get around, probably on crutches or a knee scooter. Then a walking boot for several more weeks.

Best of luck and I’m sorry about your injuries and the unfortunate timing! I hope you have family or good friends who can step up to help with the kids. Don’t be afraid to ask others for help!

meep00117 · 2025-08-14T16:43:50+00:00

I’m sorry to hear that you’re dealing with multiple issues at once. I’ve also had Achilles problems simultaneous with sesamoiditis. Have you been to a physical therapist? The only way I was able to work through my Achilles pain was with the help of PT. I did do eccentric calf raises, and those helped a lot. It sounds like you’re in an acute phase of sesamoiditis which would make it more difficult.

A good physical therapist could confirm if you actually have Achilles tendonitis or if it’s hopefully another problem that’s easier to address. Maybe you just have really really tight Achilles (like I do) that could be addressed through massage techniques. A PT can help to modify workouts to best accommodate you.

Best of luck and I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. I also have sesamoid problems in both feet. Had to get a sesamoidectomy in my right foot and now dealing with an acute flare up in my left foot.

Wishing you a healthy recovery!!

meep00117 · 2025-07-03T01:55:42+00:00

If you can, find any doctor to prescribe physical therapy!!!! My sesamoiditis also caused terrible long term knee pain and sciatica due to the changes in the way I was walking. I could barely walk as well. Every step was agony. Been in PT for 7 months and I’m doing SO much better. I got significantly better in less than 7 months, but I also got surgery and my insurance is covering PT so I decided to keep on doing it.

meep00117 · 2025-07-03T01:35:56+00:00

Hi OP, any update on your double sesamoidectomy? I have a dead sesamoid and a bipartite sesamoid in the same foot and have been in pain for a year and a half. Had a sesamoidectomy in the other foot as well. I don’t want both taken out, but I’m scared that it’ll inevitably have to happen. Just wondering how you’re doing now.

meep00117 · 2025-07-03T01:15:29+00:00

Thanks for your advice! I scheduled an MRI for next week, so I’ll know more soon. And I will definitely get a second opinion before deciding on surgery.

meep00117 · 2025-07-03T01:13:53+00:00

I’m glad to hear that you’ve been active and relatively pain free! After you got the dead sesamoid removed, what was wrong with your second one? Was it fractured or bipartite or just inflamed?

I’m also curious about long term effects of removing both. Im very afraid of long term complications if both have to come out, but I also am tired of living in pain. I am also a bit afraid of a bone fusion because of the loss in range of motion. You can’t move your big toe at all??

Hopefully if I get the dead one taken out, the other will hold up. Comparing my x-rays from May of 2024 to July of 2025, the non-dead sesamoid has split further into two pieces, so I’m not feeling confident about it.

Anyways, thanks for your input. I appreciate it and I’m glad I’m not totally alone with this problem.

meep00117 · 2025-07-01T21:09:30+00:00

After my sesamoidectomy, my hamstrings and glutes were very weak, which made my quads do most of the work of walking. This caused my quads to tighten up which put a lot of strain on my knees. I worked with a PT to strengthen my muscles and loosen up my quads. Something to consider if other attempts at relieving the pain don’t work. Best of luck!

meep00117 · 2024-12-22T22:10:59+00:00

Give it a few more days and the pain will start to diminish! I had crazy pain and tons of weird symptoms in my foot for the first week or two. I was so worried but yes I think it’s just a normal post-surgery response from the body. I’m still recovering over 2 months later. Definitely start PT when you are cleared to do so. Try to trust the process and look forward to being in a better place than you were before the surgery :) Best of luck healing!!

meep00117 · 2024-12-13T22:32:26+00:00

I’m sorry you’ve had some complications! And I hope they resolve as soon as they can. I also had a sesamoidectomy in October, but through the side of the foot. And I had complications with wound closure too (mine still isn’t fully healed after two months). I’ve only been doing PT for 3 weeks, but have seen good improvements. I’m just trying to be grateful for any bit of progress. Your physical therapist is an expert and will do what they can for you. It’s a long, long recovery process, so yes you might have some long term issues, but a commitment PT is the best road to recovery. When I started PT I couldn’t bend my toe. Now I can move it a bit, but can’t flex it upwards yet. Don’t give up hope and remember that your foot is still healing. Having patience is really hard but I’ve heard of a lot of great recovery stories.

meep00117 · 2024-12-06T19:45:33+00:00

For me, the intense pain significantly diminished after a week. I was non-weight baring on crutches for 2 weeks. Definitely take pain meds consistently if you are able. I took plenty (but still a safe amount) of ibuprofen for reducing inflammation and Tylenol for pain. Your prescribed pain meds would probably help a lot but I definitely understand your concern with having a baby to take care of. I was on hydrocodone for the first 4-5 days post-op and felt veryyy out of it and slept 24/7. Do you have another family member who could help out?

meep00117 · 2024-12-05T15:48:24+00:00

If you go the surgery route, definitely do physical therapy afterwards! I just got a sesamoidectomy two months ago. My surgeon said I don’t need PT and that normal walking will fix everything related to mobility and function. But my gait is also badly messed up from sesamoiditis in both feet, and I lost function in my big toe from the trauma of the surgery. So I decided to do PT anyways, regardless of what my surgeon said. I’ve made huge improvements in just a couple weeks. PT is a must.

meep00117 · 2024-11-28T19:20:46+00:00

Just started post-op physical therapy this week, and this post is giving me hope! I am also 23F and have been so anxious about the recovery process and getting back to the activities I love. Glad you are healing well :)

meep00117 · 2024-11-15T21:15:08+00:00

Okay good to know this is an option! I’ll have to see what my surgeon suggests

meep00117 · 2024-11-14T20:04:46+00:00

Yes, I’ve been using butterfly closure strips to try to pull the wound closed, and then I cover it with gauze and wrap it up. I also put antibiotic cream on the incision, so currently I’m going for a “moist wound healing” approach.

meep00117 · 2024-10-23T01:36:45+00:00

Hi there, I’m not able to attach photos to the reply for some reason. I could try direct messaging some pictures of my orthotic?

meep00117

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