The Jones fracture (named after a famous English physician) is a fracture of the shaft of the fifth metatarsal. The metatarsals are the long bones connecting the toes with the mid foot and the fifth metatarsal is the bone on the outside of the foot. The fracture occurs at the junction of the proximal and middle parts of the metatarsal bone, usually from a twisting fall, but sometimes from walking or dancing ( a stress type fracture).
The difficulty in the Jones fracture arises due to vascular anatomy. The location of the fracture is at a watershed area where the circulation from the ankle meets that from the toes, and it is poorly vascularized compared to the rest of the bone. In this situation, the bone healing can be very slow and frequently goes on to a delyed or non union of the fracture.
Treatment usually is with a cast, but if the bone does not heal either electrical stimulation of the fracture or surgical fixation with a long screw is needed. Although no one wants surgery, the long term results are very good, evn if slower that one would want
