Change in the sub-sesamoid soft tissue thickness under different loading conditions.
Zijian Liu, Toshihiro Maemichi, Masatomo Matsumoto and 5 others
PMID 37529059WHAT IT FOUND
Sub-sesamoid soft tissue compresses significantly when weight bearing begins, but further loading up to 100% of body weight causes no additional thinning.
The tissue under the fibular sesamoid is consistently thicker than under the tibial sesamoid.
Key findings
01Soft tissue thickness under both sesamoids decreased significantly with any loading compared to non-loading, but did not change further between 25% and 100% loading.
02The fibular sub-sesamoid soft tissue was significantly thicker than the tibial sub-sesamoid soft tissue across all conditions.
03The percentage of compression at 100% loading was similar for both tibial (47.1%) and fibular (46.2%) tissues.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study included only healthy females in their 20s, so results may not apply to males, older adults, or those with foot pathology. The sample size was small (17 participants). The study measured healthy feet, so it does not describe how this tissue behaves in people with sesamoid pain or deformity.
Declared interests
None declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that loading beyond 25% of body weight continues to compress this tissue. The study found that thickness stabilized after the initial load, meaning the tissue reaches its maximum compression early in the stance phase.