Jon "Bones" Jones great toe dislocation.

For you UFC fans out there (and for you gait fans) who saw this injury at UFC 159 here was some update video on his toe shortly after the injury. Here is the picture (graphic).

"Dr. Robert Klapper, an Orthopedic Surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Group, was a guest on Tuesday night’s edition of UFC Tonight to discuss the injury and the recovery process in detail." He does a pretty good job in highlighting the injury. He went over the FHB (flexor hallucis brevis) injury and the sesamoid concern which impressed us that he was fairly knowledgeable in the critical function of this toe and joint.  We still remain very concerned about the amount of dorsiflexion he is able to regain at that joint.  These kinds of injuries can lead to hallux rigidus and some premature degenerative changes in the toe cartilage which can impair heel rise through toe off in gait. (it also might affect his sprawl (see below for definition) for all you MMA junkies!). Although first metatarsophalangeal instability (big toe joint) is an uncommon condition it can result from disruption of the capsular-ligamentous complex which is most certainly the result of Jon Jones injury. Patients can experience pain with push-off and hallux rigidus type of symptoms including loss of end range of the joint which is critical for gait.  Quite often the joint needs restabilization which can be done through many surgical methods including anchoring the plantar plate to the extensor hallucis longus tendon. When this toe is not sufficiently stabilized the anchoring of the head of the medial tripod of the foot (the 1st metatarsal head) often becomes unstable. And when it becomes unstable more foot pronation can occur and bunion formation and hallux drift can occur, amongst many other things such as chronic sesamoiditis and functional imbalance (and thus power) across the joint. These things can all affect speed, agility, balance, power and the like. 

Lets hope that Jones' toe restilizes on its own. We won't know for several more weeks however.  One thing is for sure, with our 45 years experience, no  matter what the media spins right now, he is not out of the woods yet. Seriously.  It will be interesting to see if there is evidence of favoring of the joint in his next fight, whenever that is.

oh, and here was our Tweet to Bones Jones after the fight. Never heard from him....... tisk tisk tisk.    #regret (we hope not !)

The Gait Guys ‏@TheGaitGuys 27 Apr

@JonnyBones good win. You are gonna need @TheGaitGuys to restore function for that toe once it heals. Ouch ! Nasty ! #hangtough champ !

define: Sprawl (wikipedia)

A sprawl is a martial arts and wrestling term for a defensive technique that is done in response to certain takedown attempts, typically double or single leg takedown attempts. The sprawl is performed by scooting the legs backwards, so as to land on the upper back of the opponent attempting the takedown. The resultant position is also known as a sprawl or sprawling position.

Ideally, the sprawling athlete should arch his back as much as possible and keep his knees off the mat. His options here including attempting to gain leverage on the lower back by hooking underneath the elbows; throwing in a headlock; and grabbing his opponent's ankles and trying to get behind his opponent.