Comparison of Bicortical Headless Cannulated Screw Fixations, Tension Band Fixations, and Kirschner Wire Fixations of a Jones Fracture: A Biomechanical Study.

Background: The aim of study was to biomechanically compare the fixation of Jones fracture using headless cannulated screw, tension band, and two Kirschner wires.

Methods: A total of 60 fourth-generation, fifth metatarsal synthetic bone models were divided into three groups according to the fixation techniques. A vertical load, oriented from plantar to dorsal and lateral to medial, was applied to the metatarsal specimen that were potted with molding material. The stiffness and fatigue values were compared between the three fixation groups.

Results: In the plantar to dorsal load test, the stiffness values were found to be significantly higher in Group 1 compared to the other groups (P = .034, P = .013). No significant difference was found in the analysis in terms of fatigue values in plantar to dorsal load testing (P = .348, P = .416). No significant difference was found between compression screw and tension band groups in lateral to medial loading test, in terms of stiffness and fatigue values (P = .096, P = .762). However, the stiffness values and fatigue values of these two groups were found to be statistically significantly higher than the Kirschner wire group (P = .003, P = .002, P = .016, P = .023).

Conclusions: The result of this study showed that the bicortical fixation of headless compression screw provides a more stable fixation than other fixation methods, especially in plantar to dorsal loading.