Biomechanical Analysis of Stresses to the Fifth Metatarsal Bone During Sports Maneuvers: Implications for Fifth Metatarsal Fractures

Abstract

Fifth metatarsal stress fractures are an increasing problem in elite and recreational athletic populations. One possible mechanism of injury is the many bending moments applied to the fifth metatarsal during dynamic sports maneuvers involving rapid changes in direction and speed. A potentially important bending moment is loading of the base versus the head of the fifth metatarsal, which tends to cause a bending moment along the bone. To determine which maneuver applies the greatest pressure differential between the base and head of the fifth metatarsal, 10 college-aged male athletes performed running straight, jump take-off, jump landing, cutting right, cutting left, and accelerating while plantar pressures were recorded using a Pedar insole system (Novel Electronics, Inc., St. Paul, MN). Peak pressure at the fifth metatarsal base was subtracted from the peak pressure at the fifth metatarsal head to obtain the fifth metatarsal pressure differential—a corollary to the bending moment. The greatest fifth metatarsal pressure differential was observed during acceleration maneuvers (20 ± 13.1 N/cm2; P < 0.0001) followed by running straight (11.6 ± 8 N/cm2; P < 0.0008). The other maneuvers had low pressure differentials: jump take-off (4.2 ± 10.6 N/cm2), jump landing (3.7 ± 9.2 N/cm2), cutting left (2.3 ± 4.2 N/cm2), and cutting right (–2.1 ± 10 N/cm2). It appears that acceleration maneuvers may apply the largest bending moments to the fifth metatarsal and could lead to stress fractures. Because fifth metatarsal stress fractures are associated with rapid increases in training volume, reducing the number of acceleration events may be effective in altering the balance between bone resorption and bone formation and reducing stress fracture risk. Careful planning of training programs allowing for adequate rest between intense bouts of exercise involving many acceleration maneuvers may be the best preventative measure.