Stress Fracture Tibia

One of the more common places for a stress fracture to occur is in the Tibia bone which is one of the two bones that are located in the lower leg (under the knee). The other bone is called the Fibula as you can be seen in the image on the right.

You can also see in the image that the Tibia is the larger of the two bones meaning it will carry most of the weight and stress that is applied. The Tibia is the load bearing bone while the role of the smaller Fibula bone is mainly muscle attachment.

Both the Tibia and Fibula can have stress fractures but the more common bone to suffer from such fractures is the Tibia bone and these fractures usually appear on in the lower part of the bone. If you will divide it into 3 than the lower third is where stress fractures will occur.

Stress Fracture Tibia Symptoms

The symptoms of a stress fracture in the Tibia bone are very similar to the symptoms of any other stress fracture and will include pain which will usually be felt on the lower third of the Tibia bone and this pain will appear after long walks or runs.

There might also be some tenderness and swelling over the site of the stress fracture and pain will be felt when pressing into the shin.

Stress Fracture Tibia Causes

Just as with the symptoms, the causes for a stress fracture in the Tibia bone are quite similar to the causes of any other type of stress fracture. Overloading the bone by running to extensive lengths and long period of time is a very common cause for such a stress fracture.

A change in the running surface can also cause a fracture and a great example is tennis players that change the type of courts they play on (between clay, grass and hard).

Stress Fracture Tibia Diagnoses

In order to diagnose such a stress fracture an X-ray might not be enough as it is very common that the small fractures are not visible on X-rays. In such cases a computed topography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will be necessary in order to clearly diagnose the situation.

Stress Fracture Tibia Treatment

The treatment is similar to the treatment you will need for any type of stress fracture and will mainly include rest for 6 to 8 weeks. A doctor should always be consulted and an X-ray will be needed in order to see the healing bone and to get the OK to get back to normal training.

It is also very important to study and understand the main cause for the Tibia stress fracture in order to tweak and modify your training so you will avoid a recurring fracture. Maintaining fitness by swimming, running in the water or weight training is very recommended and also doing some special exercises for the lower leg to maintain the muscle strength.