Diminished coordination skills may predispose injury to lesser toe fractures-a pilot study

Lesser toe fractures of the foot are a common lower extremity injury. The common mechanism of injury is a direct impact of force on the toe due to a collision of the toe with an object, often related as accidental injury or clumsiness.

This is a case-control study. We compared patients with lesser toe fractures to a healthy control group. We used a motor imagery tool to evaluate the proprioception and function of the pre-motor, center of motion planning cortex. Forty images of the left/right feet in various positions were incorporated into a dedicated software application. Participant reaction time and accuracy of recognition were recorded.

Forty-two adult participants (20 with lesser toe fractures and 22 in the control healthy group) were included in the study. There was no difference in the participant's self-perception of clumsiness or involvement in activities that are related to better coordination. There was no difference in the accuracy or the reaction time in the motor imagery tool. The control group was significantly (p < 0.05) more accurate in recognizing their dominant side, whereas the fracture group was more accurate in recognizing their non-dominant side.

Our findings do not support the premise that diminished coordination skills may predispose to injury to lesser toe fractures. Our findings may suggest that mixed laterality (hand/foot) is related to lesser toe fractures and thus may be related to clumsiness. Whether these alterations in perception bare merit in other types of physical injuries has yet to be explored.