Apparatus and methods for joining bones

A plate insertion tool for use with a compression plate having a body portion with one or more apertures each for receiving a screw and a pair of legs at one end that are each connected to the body at an acute angle and spaced apart by a shoulder, the plate insertion tool being usable to temporarily tension the legs prior to insertion into holes in a bone, the plate insertion tool comprising:

• a pair of facing, inwardly extending fingers being movable between a clamping position for clamping therebetween, in use, the legs of the compression plate, and an open position where, in use, the inwardly extending fingers are spaced from the legs of the compression plate, the pair of inwardly extending fingers being closer to each other in the clamping position as compared to the open position;
• and
• a pushing finger movable between a retracted position and an extended position relative to the pair of inwardly extending fingers and positioned for engaging, in use, the shoulder of the compression plate such that when the pushing finger moves to the extended position the legs are temporality tensioned by bending the legs away from the body.