Author: Foot Doc
Date: 3/28/2007 6:12 am PDT
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DISCLAIMER:
THE FOLLOWING IS OFFERED GRATIS AS GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY, AND, AS SUCH, MAY NOT BE APPLICABLE TO THE SPECIFIC QUESTIONER AND/OR HIS/HER PROBLEM. IT IS CLEARLY NOT BASED ON ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE AND/OR EXAMINATION OF THE QUESTIONER OR HIS/HER MEDICAL HISTORY, AND IT CAN NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS DEFINITIVE MEDICAL OPINION OR ADVICE. ONLY THROUGH HANDS- ON PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH THE ACTUAL PATIENT CAN ACCURATE MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS BE ESTABLISHED AND SPECIFIC ADVICE BE GIVEN. NO DOCTOR/PATIENT RELATIONSHIP IS CREATED OR ESTABLISHED OR MAY BE INFERRED. THE QUESTIONER AND/OR READER IS INSTRUCTED TO CONSULT HIS OR HER OWN DOCTOR BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH ANY SUGGESTIONS CONTAINED HEREIN, AND TO ACT ONLY UPON HIS/HER OWN DOCTOR’S ORDERS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. BY THE READING OF MY POSTING WHICH FOLLOWS, THE READER STIPULATES AND CONFIRMS THAT HE/SHE FULLY UNDERSTANDS THIS DISCLAIMER AND HOLDS HARMLESS THIS WRITER. IF THIS IS NOT FULLY AGREEABLE TO YOU, THE READER, AND/OR YOU HAVE NOT ATTAINED THE AGE OF 18 YEARS, YOU HEREBY ARE ADMONISHED TO READ NO FURTHER.
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First of all, I generally dislike the reliance on old names such as "Jones Fractures," so-named after the investigator who first described the condition. I especially do not like such naming procedures in relation to definitively labeling traumatic injuries, as they rarely confine themselves to the specifics detailed by the original investigator. It leads to confusion, and non-specifics in discussion of the condition and its treatment.
Although I have no way of confirming this, my gut feeling is that you have sustained an avulsion fracture of the styloid process (tuborosity) of the 5th metatarsal rather than a classic Jones fracture. The two fractures are often confused in naming, the avulsion fracture sometimes known as a "pseudo-Jones Fracture."
Fractures of or near the base of the 5th metatarsal have multiple classifications. For your information, I provide (below) two Internet references which might be helpful to you in determining which you have.
1. http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/lowerfx/g/dancers.htm
2. http://www.e-radiography.net/radpath/j/jones_fracture.htm
My suspicions, due entirely to your mention of the "pizza slice" "floating" bone fragment, is that you may have sustained the avulsion fracture rather than the more serious Jones Fracture. Such an avulsion fracture is often sustained in an inversion injury of the foot. The peroneus brevis tendon which inserts into the tuborosity of the base of the fifth metatarsal tears off a portion of bone, which appears to be floating free, but is held attached to the tendon. Treatment of such avulsion fractures is generally less aggressive than for a Jones fracture, and surgery is rarely required. Chance are, in such fractures there will be a fibrous pseudo-union and one will likely always see what appears on x-ray to be a separation between the fragment and the metatarsal.
However, all of this is supposition and general discussion, and I have no way of determining if this does or does not apply to your case. You should discuss your concerns with your own doctor or with another doctor who can actually examine your foot, and not rely on anything that you are told by someone without such a hands-on examination. |
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