Common Foot Fracture Knocks Out NBA's Rasheed Wallace

The podiatrists at The Foot Care Center of Montana and Wyoming often see basketball  and other sport injuries. An injury in the news that caught our attention happened to Rasheed Wallace of the New York Knicks.  Last week he suffered a fracture to his left foot and is now scheduled for surgery. He will be out for 6 to 8 weeks. It's not that he's soft, after all he is a 15 year veteran of the NBA.  He also holds the all time record for technical fouls, over 300 in his lifetime with 41 in one season alone, but now a small fracture of his 5th metatarsal is stopping him in his tracks.

The 5th metatarsal is the long bone which leads to the little toe. You can feel the base of this bone as a hard bump on the outside of your midfoot. When the fracture occurs at this base it is referred to as a Jone's fracture. Jone's fractures are notorious for non or delayed healing and surgery is often the best treatment - especially if your annual salary for being able to play basketball is $1.7 million.

The 5th metatarsal is prone to fractures with ankle sprains or when stepping or landing on someone else's foot. The tendon that attaches to the base of the bone is normally stronger than the bone itself and with the twisting action of the foot the tendon literally pulls on the bone so hard it breaks. At times just a tiny piece of the bone is pulled off, this is called an avulsion fracture. When a larger piece is broken off its a Jone's fracture. Immediate immobilization is necessary and delaying treatment increases the likelihood of needing surgery.

Contact the Billings, Sheridan, Gillette and Casper podiatrists at The Foot Care Center if you experience even a light ankle sprain. We're concerned about your foot whether you play basketball or not. You need to be in your own game whatever court it is played on. Our goal is to help you get better and be more active whatever foot problem you have.