What's a Boxer's Fracture?
I have a friend named Greg who loves to play basketball. The only problem is that it seems every time he plays, he hurts his hand. One would think that after his third hand injury, he would find another sport.
This time Greg came back from the doctor's office with a diagnosis of hand fracture of the fifth metacarpal- the bone that aligns the pinky finger. He was told he had a "Boxer's Fracture." Look above to see a radiograph of what his hand looks like.
As you can see, there is a break in the neck of the metacarpal, right underneath the knuckle. It takes place on digit 5, or pinky, as the fingers are counted out with the thumb starting as 1.
Greg has been ridiculed where he works as a lawyer with comments such as "What's the other guy look like?" and makes up stories so that he doesn't have to say that he hurt his hand on a basketball going for a rebound. Someone told him he has a "Boxer's Fracture," and Greg asked me why they call it that. It is nicknamed as such because the injury usually occurs after trauma to a clenched fist, such as when punching a wall or hard object (basketball?). It especially occurs when there is a roundhouse motion to the punch, meainng when the punch is landed on an angle and all the force is absorbed by the last metacarpal. That's why this term is actually a misnomer- it rarely takes place in professional boxers, because with good technique, the force of a proper punch is transmitted equally to all the knuckles and each corresponding metacarpal.
How is my friend doing? He has received the standard treatment of three weeks in an ulnar gutter cast. Click the link to see what the cast looks like.
http://www.uptodate.com/contents/image?imageKey=RHEUM%2F27464&topicKey=EM%2F187&source=see_link&utdPopup=true
It comes off in a few days, but Greg still has to be careful- he is still at a high risk of fracture for the next four to six weeks and should avoid using the hand in competitive sports unless using a brace. He should also think about investing in a soccer ball.