Chiefs fans watching the game against the Patriots? The announcers are discussing Julian Edelman wearing custom foot orthoses for his foot injury. He sustained a Jones fracture on November 15, which is very common in both athletes and the general population. When a fracture has its own name, you know it is common.
How do you diagnose and treat a Jones fracture? On clinical exam, patient will have pain and swelling to the outside of the foot. A Jones fracture is diagnosed after confirmation with an X-ray of the foot. It can be a devestating injury and season-ender for an athlete. Treatment consists of conservative therapy of non or limited weightbearing, meaning you are using crutches and/or in a walking boot. The fracture itself takes longer to heal without surgery because it is in an area of the bone that doesn't have the best blood supply. Normal fractures take 6-8 weeks to heal, whereas a Jones fracture can take 3 months or greater.
If conservative therapy is decided between you and your doctor, many private insurances will approve and pay for a bone stimulator to assist in fracture healing. Active and healthy patients may choose to have surgery to decrease recovery time to the normal 6-8 weeks. Surgery is performed as an outpatient. There are multiple ways to fixate this fracture, however the most common way is with an intramedullary screw. This means a large screw is placed from the base of the bone up through the center of the bone to compress the two fragments.
After recovery from a Jones fracture, patients normally do well long term with a custom foot orthotic to prevent reinjury. A custom foot orthotic is fabricated from a cast of your foot and slides in and out of your shoes. Your local podiatrist will make the necessary adjustments based on the biomechanics of your foot to your orthotic device.
In the end Julian Edelman must be feeling some pain out there on the field....As a chiefs fan, I'm hoping he gets fewer yards and maybe gives up the ball for an interception.
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/01/12/julian-edelman-broken-foot-jones-fracture-recovery/