Welcome to

In Street Clothes

Covering sports injuries from the perspective of a certified athletic trainer and backed by analytics.

Breaking Down Kevin Durant’s Jones Fracture

Thunder forward Kevin Durant will not be available to start the 2014-15 season after it was discovered the reigning MVP has a Jones fracture in his right foot. The Thunder stated they are currently considering all their options and will provide a timeline when a course of treatment has been decided.

Durant’s fracture is to the fifth metatarsal. The metatarsals are the long bones of the foot that bridge the bones of the midfoot to the bones of the toe. The fifth metatarsal is located on the outside of the foot and serves as an attachment site for several muscles. These muscles make the bone susceptible to fractures when the ankle is forced inward like when making a hard cut or landing on the foot of an opponent.

In metatarsal fractures, it is all about determining the location of the fracture. Unfortunately, the type of fracture sustained by Durant is one of most serious metatarsal fractures. Named for orthopedic surgeon Sir Robert Jones, a Jones fracture occurs when the fracture is located near the base of the 5th metatarsal. The blood flow to this area is very poor causing the fracture to take a significant amount of time to heal. Furthermore Jones fractures have a high propensity for delayed union or nonunions. In these scenarios, the two bone pieces fail to unite or take a long period of time to connect. As a result of these factors, surgery is often necessary.

5thmetatarsal

Another factor to consider is the mechanism of injury. Jones fractures can occur as an acute injury following a specific incident or they can develop slowly over time and be classified as a stress fracture. If it is indeed a stress fracture, additional steps may be necessary to determine if there is biomechanical reasoning for its occurrence. Nets center Brook Lopez has battled fifth metatarsal fractures for the past few seasons and finally underwent a procedure known as an osetotomy. In this surgery, Lopez’s first metatarsal was literally cut and reshaped to help divert stress away from the fifth.

It gets worse. The inherent risk for re-injury is particularly high and surgery can’t guarantee anything. Hardware failure is a common occurrence and additional surgery could be needed. Multiple players including Lopez, Clippers forward Glen Davis and former Net Damion James are just a few examples of players who need hardware replacements after their initial surgery for 5th metatarsal fractures.

Screen shot 2014-10-12 at 11.59.28 AM

While additional information will surface in the coming days, including a final decision on surgery, history suggests Durant is fighting an uphill battle in recovery. Fortunately the Oklahoma City medical team is one of the best in the league and will be able to provide Durant with an elite level of care. Only time will tell if this is a minor setback for Durant but it clearly isn’t the way the Thunder wanted to start the new season.

35 thoughts on “Breaking Down Kevin Durant’s Jones Fracture”
  1. […] Breaking Down Kevin Durant's Jones Fracture – In Street Clothes __________________ Follow me on twitter @bigtrix36 I PC Da Bears, Seahawks, Mariners, Pirates http://sportscardalbum.com/u/trixstar […]

  2. […] so ominously put by NBA damage analyst and authorized athletic coach Jeff Stotts in his report on the Durant injury, “The inherent danger for re-damage is especially excessive, and surgical procedure cannot […]

  3. […] so ominously put by NBA injury analyst and certified athletic trainer Jeff Stotts in his report on the Durant injury, “The inherent risk for re-injury is particularly high, and surgery can’t guarantee […]

  4. […] so ominously put by NBA injury analyst and certified athletic trainer Jeff Stotts in his report on the Durant injury, « The inherent risk for re-injury is particularly high, and surgery can’t […]

  5. […] so ominously put by NBA injury analyst and certified athletic trainer Jeff Stotts in his report on the Durant injury, “The inherent risk for re-injury is particularly high, and surgery can’t guarantee […]

  6. […] so ominously put by NBA injury analyst and certified athletic trainer Jeff Stotts in his report on the Durant injury, “The inherent risk for re-injury is particularly high, and surgery can’t guarantee […]

  7. […] so ominously put by NBA injury analyst and certified athletic trainer Jeff Stotts in his report on the Durant injury, “The inherent risk for re-injury is particularly high, and surgery can’t guarantee […]

  8. […] so ominously put by NBA damage researcher and approved jaunty tutor Jeff Stotts in his news on a Durant injury, “The fundamental risk for re-injury is quite high, and medicine can’t pledge […]

  9. […] so ominously put by NBA injury analyst and certified athletic trainer Jeff Stotts in his report on the Durant injury, “The inherent risk for re-injury is particularly high, and surgery can’t guarantee […]

  10. […] so ominously put by NBA injury analyst and certified athletic trainer Jeff Stotts in his report on the Durant injury, “The inherent risk for re-injury is particularly high, and surgery can’t guarantee […]

  11. […] so ominously put by NBA damage researcher and approved jaunty tutor Jeff Stotts in his news on a Durant injury, “The fundamental risk for re-injury is quite high, and medicine can’t pledge […]

  12. […] injury analyst and certified athletic trainer, Jeff Stotts, wrote a comprehensive report on Durant’s injury and had some very interesting things to […]

  13. […] injury analyst and certified athletic trainer, Jeff Stotts, wrote a comprehensive report on Durant’s injury and had some very interesting things to […]

  14. […] so ominously put by NBA damage researcher and approved jaunty tutor Jeff Stotts in his news on a Durant injury, “The fundamental risk for re-injury is quite high, and medicine can’t pledge […]

  15. […] injury analyst and certified athletic trainer, Jeff Stott’s, wrote a comprehensive report on Durant’s injury and had some very interesting things to say. “The inherent risk for […]

  16. […] is an injury players routinely recover from without long-term complications. According to Jeff Stotts of InStreetClothes.com, only about a quarter of recent Jones fractures in the NBA have caused recurring issues down the […]

  17. […] In Street Clothes, Grantland, Sports Illustrated, FanSided and GQ. Jeff Stotts explains to us what Kevin […]

  18. […] In Street Clothes, Grantland, Sports Illustrated, FanSided and GQ. Jeff Stotts explains to us what Kevin […]

  19. […] injury analyst and certified athletic trainer, Jeff Stotts, wrote a comprehensive report on Durant’s injury and had some very interesting things to […]

  20. Randy Martin October 15, 2014 on 11:25 pm

    Didn’t Yao Ming also deal with metatarsal fractures?

    • Jeff Stotts October 16, 2014 on 9:27 am

      Yes he did. The bigger issue for Ming was a navicular fracture.

  21. […] the pinkie toe toward the heel — and will be re-evaluated in six weeks. While there’s no guarantee that surgery will prevent recurrences of problems with the foot in the future, the surgery will […]

  22. […] Kevin Durant already recovering from a Jones fracture in his foot, Russell Westbrook  is now expected to join his teammate on the sideline after he suffered a […]

  23. […] So what’s the timetable for a fifth metatarsal fracture, and what is it? This type of fracture has a nickname, a Jones fracture. The fifth metatarsal is a bone on the outside of your foot. It’s what Kevin Durant is currently healing from – suffered in October – and his timetable for a return is 6-to-8 weeks. Below is a lengthy chart of NBA players who have dealt with this type of injury before. […]

  24. 15 Facts about Kevin Durant February 4, 2015 on 9:53 am

    […] Kevin Durant surprised a lot of experts by returning to the lineup in a road game at New Orleans. It seems like the initial timetable has been slightly shortened. Rotoworld.com initially reported that a return was tentatively scheduled for late December. Some players in the past have rushed back from an injury like this and done more damage to the foot, resulting in an early end to the season. This specific kind of fracture has even ended some players’ careers. […]

  25. […] in October Stotts wrote a great post about the injury for his website In Street Clothes. Here’s how he summed up what makes […]

  26. […] in October Stotts wrote a great post about the injury for his website In Street Clothes. Here’s how he summed up what makes this […]

  27. […] the injury was first reported, InStreetClothes.com detailed the problems associated with the Jones fracture and presented a list of those to suffer setbacks following their […]

  28. […] in the foot can be very problematic. Given the recent problems players like Joel Embiid and Kevin Durant have had with stress-related injuries of the foot, insuring Hunter is not a risk for an additional […]

  29. […] readers of InStreetClothes.com know the injury well as it was thoroughly discussed last season after Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant suffered the injury during the preseason. However […]

  30. […] failure and malunions of the navicular are less common than other foot injuries, specifically Jones fractures like the one Kevin Durant sustained last season, a 2006 study revealed pain can linger at the […]

  31. […] This is obviously an awful blow to the Sixers, who know all too well about troublesome foot injuries to top picks. 2014 No. 3 pick Joel Embiid has missed the first two seasons of his career due to multiple foot surgeries, and the big man is just now getting set to make his NBA debut. And just as that happens, Simmons suffers this injury that’ll likely keep him out an extended period of time, although the exact amount of time missed for foot fractures varies depending on the location and severity of the fracture. […]

  32. […] or a Avulsion fracture. InStreetClothes.com has a complete breakdown of the NBA players who have suffered the injury and their recoveries. In any case, he’s likely to miss a few weeks. The Sixers will begin the regular season on Oct. […]

  33. […] Here’s a spot where you can find information about every NBA player who has fractured that metatarsal bone. It’s not an unusual break, at least among NBA players, but there have been complications for some, most notably seven-footer Brook Lopez. […]

  34. […] previous quote is from this Jeff Stotts article explaining Kevin Durant‘s 5th metatarsal fracture, or Jones fracture as […]

Comments are closed.