Kevin Durant recently suffered a Jones fracture . He is estimated to be out for 2 months. For all you Basketball fans and Oklahoma City Thunder fans you are probably wondering what is a Jones fracture how do you get one what is the recovery , is surgery necessary and will Kevin Durant be able to play at a high level once he gets back. The foot is composed of bones called Metatarsals. they are the long bones of the foot. The outermost metatarsal right behind the fifth toe is the fifth metatarsal. That bone is susceptible to fractures in multiple different places due to the force load that can be exerted on that bone in different ways. A pivot type of shift on the foot with a laterally directed load and a plantarflexed ankle is the mechanism of injury that can cause a Jones fracture.

If the fracture is not displaced it can be left to heal by it self with immobilization. i highly recommend a bone stimulator such as the Smith and Nephew Exogen device wich is approved for fresh fractures of the fifth metatarsal. this can increase the healing time and potentially get you back to playing at a high level faster.

If the fracture is displaced then placing a screw inside the shaft of the bone to stabilize and compress the fracture site is recommended. There are some studies that recommend going straight to putting in the screw even when not displaces in order to prevent non unions of the bone which are more common in jones fractures. The surgery is done with a poke hole incision and requires 1 stitch

Once one suffers from such an injury it can take a few months to get back to a high level of activity. Professional athletes can recover sooner due to them being in great shape.

Hopefully Kevin Durant can recover soon and be out on the court playing pain free.