Is it possible to run with a sesamoid fracture non-union?

I got a great question from a runner with a sesamoid fracture that turned into a "non-union."

The sesamoid bones are two tiny little bones under the big toe joint. When you break one of the sesamoids, if two pieces of bone do not heal back together, we call a "sesamoid fracture non-union."

In this runner's case, she used a bone stimulator. She wore a fracture boot. She used crutches. But after a year of treatment, the doctor looked at her X-ray and said, “You have a non-union, we should take it out.”

Is it possible to run if you have a sesamoid fracture non-union?

That is a great question and that is what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.