Tibia

The tibia is your shin bone. It’s an important part of how you can stand and move.

It’s the second-longest bone in your body. Most adults’ tibias are around 15 inches (38 centimeters) long. Only your thigh bone (femur) is longer.

Your tibias are some of your strongest bones. So, they won’t need much maintenance. But listen to your body if you’re feeling pain or any other symptoms. Everyone has an occasional ache or pain. See a healthcare provider if you’re feeling bone pain from deep inside your shin or know you experienced an injury.

What does the tibia do?

Your tibia has several important jobs, including:

• Supporting the weight of your body when you stand and move
• Stabilizing you as you move
• Linking your ankle and knee joints together so they can work to move your legs
• Anchoring muscles, tendons and ligaments in your legs, knees and ankles

Where is the tibia located?

You have one tibia in each shin. It’s the bigger bone in your lower leg that’s closer to the front. The calf bone (fibula) is the other.

The tibia runs from just under your knee to your ankle. It’s closer to the inside of your body than the fibula.

What does the tibia look like?

The tibia has a flat end that forms a shelf at the bottom of your knee, a long middle shaft and a notch at the bottom where it forms your ankle.

These three sections each have a medical name:

• Proximal aspect: This is the upper end of your tibia, near your knee. The parts of the proximal aspect include the medial condyle, lateral condyle and intercondylar eminence.
• Shaft: This is the long middle of the tibia. It’s what supports your weight and forms the structure of your shin. It has three sides and is roughly shaped like a 3D triangle. The shaft includes the anterior border, posterior surface, soleal line and lateral border.
• Distal aspect: This is the lower end of your tibia. It connects to the fibula and talus, and sits on top of the heel bone (calcaneus). This forms your ankle joint. The distal aspect includes the medial malleolus and fibular notch.

You’ll probably never need to know or remember these medical names and labels. They’re usually more for your healthcare provider to use as they describe where something is affecting your tibia. You might see some of these words on an X-ray result, for example.

What are the common conditions and disorders that affect the tibia?

Your tibias are strong, but injuries and some health conditions can damage them, including:

• Tibia fractures: Broken tibias are less common than other bone fractures. That’s because they’re one of your strongest bones. It usually takes a severe injury, like a fall from a roof or a car accident, to break them.
• Osteoporosis: This condition weakens your bones. Your provider might suggest a bone density test if you’re over 50 or have a biological family history of osteoporosis.
• Osgood-Schlatter disease: This causes pain in your knee and upper shin when tendons pull against the top of your shin bone. It usually affects growing kids and teens. It’s sometimes called jumper’s knee.
• Paget’s disease of the bone: This condition causes your affected bones to constantly break down and reform. It’s more common in people over 50 of Northern European descent.

Visit a healthcare provider if you notice any new pain or other symptoms in your shin. Especially if they last more than a few days. Go to the emergency room if you think you might have a broken tibia. Don’t try to walk or put weight on that leg.