Stress avulsion fracture of the tarsal navicular. An uncommon sports-related overuse injury.

We report nine cases of stress-related avulsion fracture of the tarsal navicular in athletes. This uncommon over-use injury is thought to occur following repetitive cyclic compressive loading secondary to an impingement of the tarsal navicular. The small dorsal triangular fragment is best seen in weightbearing lateral view radiographs and isotope scan and/or tomography help confirm the diagnosis. We feel that operative treatment is the method of choice in highly symptomatic cases and among top athletes because of the shorter recovery time.