# Sesamoiditis



## trickletreat (18 Jan 2011)

Has anyone suffered from this as a result of cycling?

I ride a recumbent trike, and have done for a few years, using the same Time pedals and cycling mtb shoes. About 3 or 4 months ago I started to get sharp pains in the ball of my left foot, in the joint in line with the big toe [and to a lesser extent in the right foot in the same spot]. This is a sharp pain, followed by a constant bruised feeling when walking, and sometimes if I press to hard on pedals.[I try not to do that and spin any way]


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## Ravenbait (18 Jan 2011)

Have you seen a biomechanics expert or a podiatrist? You really should.

Sam


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## trickletreat (19 Jan 2011)

Ravenbait said:


> Have you seen a biomechanics expert or a podiatrist? You really should.
> 
> Sam




Some years ago I had a Mortons Neuroma ,the size of my little finger removed from my left foot. Started to get pain in the foot again so the podiatrist had some orthotics made for both feet [ over two years ago]. This pain is altogether different, and I have a docs appointment for next week. It is very easy to ignore this type of thing until it gets to the point of reducing the capacity to function normally.


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## slugonabike (19 Jan 2011)

You have my sympathy! I've had bilateral sesamoiditis for years and had to stop running because of it. I learned to ride a bike - and then discovered that cycling can also cause sesamoiditis  . Fortunately, I haven't found that cycling aggravates it, probably because I don't actually go far and I bought some proper cycling shoes early on as I believe that the rigid soles help distribute the load away from the 1st mtp joint. I hope that you are soon sorted out and pain-free again.


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## trickletreat (19 Jan 2011)

slugonabike said:


> You have my sympathy! I've had bilateral sesamoiditis for years and had to stop running because of it. I learned to ride a bike - and then discovered that cycling can also cause sesamoiditis  . Fortunately, I haven't found that cycling aggravates it, probably because I don't actually go far and I bought some proper cycling shoes early on as I believe that the rigid soles help distribute the load away from the 1st mtp joint. I hope that you are soon sorted out and pain-free again.



Thanks for the reply, even if it makes me think that this will get worse not better




. I do use a good wide stiff cycling mtb shoe and Time pedals, they are quiet small, so I thought that the clipless platform type might be better at spreading the load. Although they would actually sit under the painful points




I think I am slowly paying the price for years of road running, cycling and jumping off horses quickest and best onto concrete yard floors, wearing thin soled riding boots...just the thought of that makes me wince!


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## slugonabike (19 Jan 2011)

trickletreat said:


> ... onto concrete yard floors, wearing thin soled riding boots...just the thought of that makes me wince!




Me too! I tried various orthotics with no success, it might have been a different story if I'd seen someone privately sooner, rather than waiting for the wheels of the NHS to grind. I now wear MBTs most of the time as the rocker bottom reduces pressure on the painful area and helps me to carry out day-to-day activities without much discomfort. I'm told that I am pretty unusual in having a case so resistant to treatment and that most people* do* get better!


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## trickletreat (19 Jan 2011)

I am sorry to hear that and I feel your pain. I can see that those shoes would help, as it is when the foot is under load/ near to being not under load, so the heal is up and toe bent, that the pain is greatest...so the rolling contact of your shoes would help.


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## Fiona N (19 Jan 2011)

Another option to look at might be moving the cleat back towards the middle of the foot thus removing the 'pressing with the toes' effect which might be causing discomfort even if it isn't the source of the problem.

On a recumbent, with good stiff shoes, there's no biomechanical reason why you can't move the cleat close to the mid-foot - and there may be some for why it's a good idea as it moves the effort to the big muscles (glutes) and away from the calf muscles (as you can see in my avatar - I have extremely well developed calf muscles at least partly from recumbent riding)

Practically there may be problems with attaching the cleat, of course, but you'll need the 'Know how' forum for that


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## trickletreat (19 Jan 2011)

Fiona N said:


> Another option to look at might be moving the cleat back towards the middle of the foot thus removing the 'pressing with the toes' effect which might be causing discomfort even if it isn't the source of the problem.
> 
> On a recumbent, with good stiff shoes, there's no biomechanical reason why you can't move the cleat close to the mid-foot - and there may be some for why it's a good idea as it moves the effort to the big muscles (glutes) and away from the calf muscles (as you can see in my avatar - I have extremely well developed calf muscles at least partly from recumbent riding)
> 
> Practically there may be problems with attaching the cleat, of course, but you'll need the 'Know how' forum for that




Thanks for the reply, Fiona. I have already set the cleats as far back as possible with the standard adjustment, but can still feel pressure on the painful spot/joint if I forget and press to hard. Therefore I am still probably making contact with the pedal casing. I will look into locating them further back as another option.


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