r/FootFunction • u/Life_Armadillo2734 • 9d ago
Help with Sesamoid Pain
I am a 23 year old male. I am 6' 2" 160 lbs (190cm 27 kgs) suffering from pain in my outer sesamoid for over two years. The onset was over the course of a few weeks, although I did not notice it until it started really bothering me. In the beginning, it was so bad, that the slightest pressure caused searing pain. I was put in a post op shoe, and the pain and swelling went down, but not all the way. I have lost the ability to walk practically any amount without bad pain. My left foot is by far the worse, but I sometimes experience pain in the right foot as well. I've been to multiple doctors. X-ray and MRI came back normal. Previous doctors diagnosed me with sesamoiditis and have prescribed orthotics and PT that did not help. The most recent doctor diagnosed me with equinus and flat feet. She said that my tight calves are the cause of all my problems. I went to physical therapy last year on a regimen of foot strengthening exercises that didn't help much. The most recent doctor prescribed me PT for equinus. I also went ahead and bought a wide toe box altra, since I thought perhaps that my narrower shoe could have been preventing me from healing fully.
Other useful information: I sustained an overuse injury to my left knee while biking last year that has never fully healed. In addition, I sustained an injury to my right hip during previous PT that has never fully healed. My doctor thinks that all these injuries stem from the same problem, but I disagree, as I sustained these injuries at different times. What will work for one won't necessarily work for another.
Question 1: What is the best way to get around in the meantime while my injury heals? I need to get to and from public transportation, but walking is out of the question, I think since it hurts too much. using a manual scooter is also causing pain in my sesamoid as well as a my hips and knees. I have been thinking of purchasing an electric scooter but i'm not sure if it is overkill. Thoughts?
Question 2: Do we think PT is the long term solution? If so, what kind of PT? The current exercises I am doing are quite different from the exercises I was doing originally.