Accelerated Return to Play in Professional Basketball Players With Surgically-Treated Metacarpal Shaft Fractures

Traditional rehabilitation protocols for surgically treated metacarpal shaft fracture allow for return to play at 6-8 weeks post-operative. This may be devastating for the elite athlete. We outline a protocol that may allow for professional basketball players to successfully return to sport within four weeks following surgery.

Professional basketball players who sustained non-thumb metacarpal shaft fractures were included. All athletes underwent open reduction and internal fixation of the injured metacarpal. Patients were subsequently enrolled into an accelerated rehabilitation protocol.

The five athletes in our case series successfully passed return to sport testing within four weeks of surgery.

A plate and screw construct can potentially allow for professional basketball players to return to play in half the time. Future research studies should include a larger pool of athletes to further investigate accelerated rehabilitation following surgical fixation of metacarpal fractures. Level of Evidence: IV.