2006-11-10 2006-7-27 Sesamoiditis is a common ailment that affects the forefoot, typically in young people who engage in physical activity like running or dancing. Its most common symptom is pain in the ball-of-the-foot, especially on the medial or inner side. The term is a general description for any irritation of the sesamoid bones, which are tiny bones within the tendons that run to the big toe. Like the kneecap, the sesamoids function as a pulley, increasing the leverage of the tendons controlling the toe. Every time you push off against the toe the sesamoids are involved, and eventually they can become irritated, even fractured. Because the bones are actually within the tendons, sesamoiditis is really a kind of tendinitis - the tendons around the bones become inflamed as well. 158059 text/html 1.0 EN Sesamoiditis Treatment and Prevention a common ailment that affects the forefoot in young people who engage in physical activity like running or dancing the tendons around the bones become inflamed as well Minor cases call for a strict period of rest along with the use of a modified shoe or a shoe pad to reduce pressure on the affected area. Sesamoiditis Treatment and Prevention text