Jones Fractures
You may have heard about Tennessee Titans’ Derrick Henry’s reported Jones fracture injury. Here is some information on Jones fractures and what they are.
Derrick Henry broke his right foot during a game this past Sunday, October 31, 2021, in the first quarter. He still played through the game! It was later reported that he suffered from a Jones Fracture.
What is a Jones Fracture? Well, in order to understand that, we need to understand the anatomy of the 5th metatarsal first. The 5th metatarsal is a bone in your foot that is located towards the outside of your foot and connects your baby toe to the rest of your foot. Towards the base of that 5th metatarsal is where a Jones fracture occurs. In particular, a Jones Fracture occurs at the metaphyseal and diaphyseal junction of the 5th metatarsal. This is important because this area of the bone has poor blood supply and can potentially have difficulty healing.
The mechanism of injury is usually a twisting type of force on the metatarsal that causes an acute fracture, or build up of stress repeatedly over time that leads to a stress fracture.
Treatment for this type of fracture is usually surgical for athletes and younger more active people. A single screw is inserted across the fracture site to facilitate healing. This is typically done for professional athletes to facilitate healing to lead to faster recovery time. Typically, X-rays are done every 2 weeks for 6-8 weeks to monitor the progress of the fracture healing.
Most athletes, and patients in general can get back to their previous level of activity with little to no limitation.
We wish Derrick Henry a speedy and safe recovery!
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