Metatarsal Fractures Common in Basketball

The NCAA men’s basketball championship created quite a buzz this year. The Wisconsin Badgers basketball team took the spotlight headed into the finale Monday night as the team that stole Kentucky’s perfect season. The Final Four game may receive more recognition than the championship game because this upset came a season after the Badgers lost to Kentucky in the same round last year.

However sweet this story of redemption is in the sports realm, this is not a sports blog; therefore, as you may have expected, I will relate said Wisconsin victory to the wonderful field of foot and ankle surgery. You may have heard that Wisconsin’s Traevon Jackson, their essential veteran point guard, broke his foot earlier in the season and had just recently returned to play.

The feet take quite a bit of trauma in basketball. The metatarsals, which are the long bones that make up most of your midfoot, bear the brunt of the stress in sports. The second metatarsal is the most common location for stress fractures, which often lead to full-blown fractures. Not only does the constant pounding of the feet on the floor result in direct forces to these bones, but shear forces also play a role. These are common in basketball with the constant jumping and pivoting motions.

Some metatarsal fractures heal in a cast, but surgery was required in Jackson’s case. At Cast a Foot Podiatry in Hempstead, NY we will take X-ray films of the foot prior to making treatment plan. If the bone is displaced more than 2 mm on film, then surgery is required. Come and visit us if you experience foot and ankle pain resulting from a sports injury.

 

Dr. Nicole M. Castillo

Our Location

Find us on the map

Hours of Operation

Our Hempstead Office

Monday:

9:00 am-7:00 pm

Tuesday:

10:30 am-5:00 pm

Wednesday:

9:00 am-5:00 pm

Thursday:

12:00 pm-5:00 pm

Friday:

9:00 am-4:00 pm

Saturday:

12:00 pm-3:00 pm

Sunday:

Closed