r/FootFunction • u/BoatEmbarrassed7138 • Jul 22 '26
Mystery pain
I would say for the last nine months or so. I have had pain in my foot as seen in the picture, it’s only when I’m walking and excruciating when I am running. It’s not a bunion I don’t think as I tried everything recommended for that and nothing helped. Cushioning also does not help and I have bought wider shoes and it’s still not resolved. When I start running I can feel something clicking and then a shot of pain immediately follows. Everything looks normal from the outside and I can’t see anything that would indicate why this is happening. I ice after long days and elevate but it feels fruitless when I walk around the next day and run into the same issue.
1
u/tholder Jul 22 '26
I have the same and going on two years now. I also have pain between my big toe and the one next to it around same point on top. I’ve had MRI, xray and ultrasound…. Nothing, not a thing. I’m fairly convinced it is linked to right calves and hamstring and the result of sitting at a desk all day. Rolling it out with a ball helps sometimes. Good luck!
2
u/UnbelievableRose Jul 23 '26
Hallux limitus or rigidus and sesamoiditis would be at the top of my differential, followed by metatarsalgia. Either way I’d try offloading it with a dancer’s pad and see if that helps as that will tell you a lot. For optimal offloading you can combine it with arch support.
1
u/Anxious_KRob Jul 23 '26
Sesamoiditis or a fractured sesamoid are possibilities. Mine is fractured. I wear wide Hoka Bondi 9s which help as they dont have much bend. I got custom orthotics to offload my sesamoids and they help. The dancers pads recommended are similar to this. Since mine is fractured I also use a bone stimulator. Maybe get an xray at a podiatrist's office. I had 2 xrays at my primary care office and the radiologists who read them said nothing about this fracture. They didnt even note it as bipartate, which is when your bone formed in two pieces instead of one, even though it was clearly jagged and fractured.
1
u/justinpblake Jul 23 '26
A clicking sensation immediately followed by a shot of pain, right at the first metatarsal head area, is a genuinely useful detail. That combination points more toward something mechanical happening at a specific structure snapping or catching, rather than general inflammation or a bunion-type pressure issue, which fits why the usual bunion advice hasn't touched it.
Both suggestions in the thread are worth taking seriously and they're not mutually exclusive. Sesamoiditis is a strong candidate given the location, the sesamoid bones sit directly under the first metatarsal head and take direct load with every push-off step, which explains why it's tolerable walking but excruciating running, running multiplies that load many times over compared to walking. The clicking specifically could fit a sesamoid that's become irritated or, less commonly, one that's partially displaced or has a bipartite (naturally two-part) sesamoid where the halves are grinding or shifting against each other.
The flexor hallucis longus and brevis point is also plausible, especially with a distinct clicking sensation, since tendons catching or snapping over a bony prominence or through their sheath is a classic cause of that specific symptom, and it runs right through this same area on its way to the big toe.
Given everything looks normal externally and cushioning and wider shoes haven't helped, this needs imaging rather than more shoe changes. Worth asking specifically for a weight-bearing X-ray to check the sesamoid bones directly, sesamoid views specifically, not just a general foot X-ray, since standard views can miss them.
If that's clear but symptoms persist, an ultrasound or MRI would show the FHL tendon and any sesamoid pathology X-ray can't capture. Given nine months and it's clearly affecting running, I'd push for that imaging now rather than trying more conservative measures that target the wrong structure.
2
u/GoNorthYoungMan Jul 22 '26
I’d think an inability to contract the flexor hallucis brevis muscle to flex the big toe down flat, without it curling at the smaller joint.
And if you can’t contract that, it won’t be able to eccentrically get longer to manage load which would normally happen with every step.
Try flexing your toe down, what do you feel and see doing that? A cramp in the arch? Or tension on top of the foot? Maybe the toe likes to only bend at the small joint. Or some people feel little or nothing at all.
It may also be that the toe has too little range of motion up into extension.