Dr. Mark E. Pruzansky
Dr. Jason S. Pruzansky
975 Park Avenue New York, NY 10028

MMA Fighter Josh Emmett Fractures Hand, Finishes Fight

Dr Pruzansky | May 10, 2016

MMA fighters are known for their toughness. Saturday night, Josh Emmett proved just how tough they can be, finishing his three round fight with a win, despite a compound fracture to a metacarpal bone in his left hand.

While hand injuries, including hand fractures, are quite common for MMA fighters, Emmett’s fracture was particularly gruesome. The fractured bone could be clearly be seen sticking out of the skin post-fight.

Normal recovery from a metacarpal fracture takes approximately four to six weeks. Most hand fractures do not require surgery and can be effectively treated with splinting, physical therapy and a proper rehabilitation program.

In an extreme case such as this, hand surgery will likely be necessary to both clean the open wound and to repair the hand fracture with recovery time increasing up to four months due to the severity of the injury and nature of the sport, which requires a very well healed bone to withstand impact.