The Pain, The Rehab
I have a high tolerance for pain, and I played through this injury until it got extremely painful. It got to the point where I could no longer run without pain. I couldn’t do a lunge or flex my toe upward without extreme pain. Walking on the beach hurt. I thought for sure something was broken.
Why did I push through? I had pickleball FOMO. I didn’t want to miss out on good games, or lose ground in the pecking order of the circles I played in.
I didn’t do myself any favors, playing in thin barefoot shoes like Vivobarefoot and Xero and others. Pounding the pavement requires more padding. That is wisdom I won in hindsight.
It took me 6 months to rehab. Six months of no running and no pickleball, also no lunging. I tried a lot of stuff, including a carbon fiber plate in my shoe to immobilize the joint. Here are three strategies that helped me the most.
Three top strategies for healing sesamoiditis (ball of the foot injury)
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Rest and immobilization. I stopped all running activities and anything that flexed my big toe upward. One doc I saw said, “Let the pain be your guide.”
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Shoes with thick and relatively rigid soles. This was huge once I finally did it. I’m a barefoot guy, so I had trouble talking myself into chunkier shoes with a stiff sole when my preference has always been to be literally barefoot, or to wear thin-soled, wide toe box, zero-drop barefoot shoes. I ended up with some Altras that really helped me. (They have the barefoot platform and wide toe box I like, but with a thick and fairly stiff sole).
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Massaging my calves and feet. My massage therapist said that a lot of foot tension comes from tight calves. Mine were chronically tight, probably from 2-3 hours of pickleball a day. I got a Theragun and daily hit my calves and also the arch and the middle of my foot (not the ball). I did this one to two times a day and it really helped.
Post-Rehab Notes
It was rough having to abstain from a lot of activities for months on end. I’ve always been very active. Fortunately, once I got the thicker, stiffer shoes, I could mostly hike without pain, and I got in a few miles a day. I would get sore afterwards, but the massager helped. I also used some metatarsal pads on extremely tender days.
Now I no longer favor that foot. I’m still using the massager and the thick shoes to protect and care for my foot. Being laid up gave me a new appreciation for being able to be fully active and do whatever I want! What a huge relief!
If you’re suffering from sesamoiditis (ball of the foot pain), I hope this helps.
I have another sesamoiditis post here, check it out.
If you’ve had success with healing it, drop what’s worked for you in the comments section. I’d love to hear what else works!
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