I crushed my sesamoid

Way back in November, I hurt my foot working out (on the Wii). I was doing jump lunges and jump squats barefoot. The next day, my big toe hurt really bad. I didnt really think anything of it at the time. I just thought maybe it was a pulled muscle or bruise or something and it would heal. The pain subsided after about a week, but then came back a few days later after another intense workout. After a few weeks of the pain coming and going, I finally went to our local family clinic where the doctor told me he really didnt know what the problem was. He said that feet are complicated and it could be any number of things, but to just lay off it for awhile (it's kinda hard to layoff a foot) and if it doesnt get better to come back. Over the holidays, it didnt bother me quite as much because I wasnt working out and was pretty much "laying off it". After Christmas break though, I started to workout again and the pain came back, but this time it was just a constant ache (of varying degrees of pain) in most of my foot rather than a sharp pain in my toe. I finally decided enough was enough and went to see a podiatrist while we were in Anchorage over spring break. They took several X-rays and the doctor told me that I had broken my foot. The actual diagnosis was a crushed sesamoid and sesamoiditis. Your sesamoids are located under the ball of your foot and help to control the motion of the big toe. Their are two of them and they are round, floating bones (similar to the kneecap) about the size of a pea. In the top X-ray you can see them just under the second knuckle of my big toe. In the bottom X-ray you can see them distinctly under the ball of my foot (the position they made me get in for this X-ray was extremely painful). For some reason, the picture I took of this X-ray wont rotate. In both x-rays you can see (click on the pics to make them bigger) that the sesamoid toward the inside (medial) of my foot still retains its nice round appearance, while the one toward the outside (lateral) of my foot appears to be more of a crushed, screwed up, half circle. That's because the top half of the sesamoid bone is in small, shattered pieces. The doctor said that she thinks it has already started to heal, but that it will most likely take at least another six months to heal to the point where I dont feel pain anymore. She told me that the pain has spread over my entire foot now because the tendon (or was it ligament?) that goes in between the two bones has become inflamed and arthritic (sesamoiditis).

The doctor gave me an over the counter orthotic to put in my shoe which provides more arch support, thereby decreasing the amount of pressure that is put on the sesamoid. I have also been instructed to "lay off" it some more. I am not allowed to wear heels :( I am not allowed to do anything that makes my foot come down hard on the floor like jogging or jumping. :( I am not allowed to do anything that causes my toes to be bent forward very far like some yoga poses. :( I was instructed that a biking would probably be the best form of cardio for my current broken foot situation. Considering that its still negative ridiculous degrees outside, I found a good deal ($40) on a stationary bike and picked it up a few days ago. Today I rode 12 miles in 45 minutes and burned 500 calories. Not bad. I am feeling my motivation creep back in.
Doctor says if the pain doesnt get better in a month that we will have to move on to a boot. Then if that doesnt work, steriod injections. And if that doesnt work, surgery. My foot is feeling better already, although not as much as I had hoped. I have noticed lately that I have started to roll my foot to the outside rather than putting my weight flat down. I am trying to be conscious of that and trying to stop doing it. I feel like a bum wearing flats everyday to work, but it's definitely better than pain. At this point, I just hope that it heals and that this will not be something I have to live with for the rest of my life.