Was reading bout this a lil while ago. Couple of things:
1) The fatigue theoryFrom Soccerblog.comWhat are the metatarsals? The metatarsals are the five bones in the foot structurally analogous to the metacarpals in the hand. The metatarsals as a unit in the forefoot provide a broad plantar (on the sole) surface for load sharing. They are mobile in the sagittal plane (up and down) and individually the metatarsal heads can alter position to cope with uneven ground.
Stress fractures of the metatarsals are common in footballers and occur mostly in the second and third metatarsal necks and at the proximal portion of the shaft of the fifth metatarsal. Pain, deformity, crepitus, swelling, bruising and increased pain on weight bearing are the cardinal signs and symptoms.
Stress fractures are thought to be caused by overloading of the metatarsals through repeated weight bearing as seen in football. They lead to microfractures of the metatarsals.
Another theory is that excessive muscular fatigue of the foot musculature lead the metatarsals to being vulnerable to fractures, especially the second metatarsal. The dreaded carpal tunnel syndrome that has led many to wring their hands in distress, is also attributed to the repetitive motion of keyboarding.
So far the dreaded metatarsal virus this season has claimed Michael Owen, Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, and most recently Ledley King.
We, at Soccerblog did a check on the football injuries of all the Premiership League teams. Of the 70 currently injured players, five had metatarsal fractures. Significantly, Michael Owen and Ledley King, who are England squad sureshots are sidelined by these injuries.
12 had knee injuries (mostly ACL sprains or tears), 11 ankle sprains, 7 hamstrings, 6 groins, 4 ankle fractures, and 15 assorted injuries including Sol Campbell's broken nose. There was also a sports hernia and a case of glandular fever.
So metatarsal fractures accounted for about 7% of the total injuries. In a study examining military recruits, about 7.6% of lower extremity (leg) injuries were metatarsal in nature (Milgrom, et al., 1985).
The reason attributed to metatarsal fractures as compared to the other injuries that are more traumatic in nature, is the long Premiership season. It is quite remarkable that the more successful clubs had more metatarsal injured players on the roster as they played more matches. David Beckham, Gary Neville, and Danny Murphy all sustained injuries at the latter part of the season lending credence to the theory of cumulative overloading of the metatarsal bones and fatigued foot musculature.
Sven Goran Ericksson and Arsene Wenger have rightly called for a winter break during footie season. 2) The Bladed-Boots TheoryFrom Footy-boots.comBladed Football Boots
The reason that bladed football boots have come under attack, is due to t
he regularity of this type of injury of late, which coincides with the introduction of the bladed football boot. Bladed football boots have also been banned by some clubs, Manchester United being one of them.
So back to the blade.
There are two main reasons that a bladed football boot can be held responsible for the injury:1.
The thin blades on the soles can penetrate through a football boot. Due to it’s blade like feature, if on impact it hits the metatarsal this breaks the bone.
2. Due to the rigidity of the boot with the blade deep in the ground,
bladed football boots do not have ‘give’ in them when turning. When twisting, the metatarsal can be put under extreme pressure when the football boot is fixed and ultimately can break.