A Jones fracture is a break near the base of the fifth metatarsal bone in
the location shown in these illustrations.
Jones fractures are located in an area of the bone that has
relatively poor blood supply, and there are two major tendons (the
peroneus tertius and peroneus brevis) that attach to the bone in that
region. With their constant pulling on the bone and the pressures
on the bone caused from weight-bearing, these fractures are notorious
for healing very slowly (a
delayed
union) or not at all (a
non-union).
Normal treatment includes non-weight bearing and immobilization
with a cast, but often surgery is required to put in some sort of
hardware to hold the bones together. K-wires, screws, plates or
external fixation are frequent
forms of
fixation.

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