If you’ve been running and you started having pain on the outside of your foot and then you went to see a doctor who diagnosed you with a thing called a Jones fracture, you’re probably really worried right now and that would be reasonable because most of the time when you get a Jones fracture you might wind up in surgery. I think it’s important, if you’re considering whether or not you could run with a Jones fracture, you really have to think about what a Jones fracture is, where it’s located, why it’s so scary, and what you can do about it. The first thing is, of course, what is a Jones fracture exactly? Can I run with a Jones fracture? Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »The fifth metatarsal bone goes from your midfoot out to your little toe. And if you break it, it could be one of three things.
You could have a shaft fracture, which heals pretty uneventfully, most of the time.
You could have an evulsion fracture, where it actually rips a piece of bone off when your peroneus brevis tendon tries to pull so hard to keep your foot under you, that it actually cracks the bone.
Or you could get this thing called a Jones fracture. Now, if you have a Jones fracture, that is a bad thing. Out of those three, it is definitely the worst.
But sometimes a doctor will say you have something called a pseudo-Jones fracture, which implies it’s kind of like a Jones fracture, but not really as bad.
What is a pseudo-Jones fracture? Well, that’s what we’re talking about, today, on the Doc On The Run podcast.
A few days ago, I got an email from a runner who wanted to know whether or not he should have surgery to fix his Jones fracture.
Well, the first thing you have to know about this is that you should only have surgery if you believe that is the only way you’re going to heal appropriately.
When you’re a runner, you really have to think about surgery very carefully. Because when you have surgery, your healing actually doesn’t begin until after you’re done with surgery. The healing process is always taking place, and you don’t get any credit for anything that happens before the time you have surgery.
Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we’re talking about whether or not a Jones fracture needs surgery when you’re a runner.
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