Tibial Tuberosity

Your tibial tuberosity, or tibial tubercle, is a rounded bony bump on the front of your shin bone, just below your kneecap. Your patellar tendon, which is a continuation of the quadriceps tendon after the patella, also connects to your tibial tuberosity.

This connection is why this bony bump is a key player on the team of tendons, ligaments and muscles that support your knees and let you straighten your lower leg.

What does my tibial tuberosity do?

Your tibial tuberosity acts like an anchor for the muscles and tendons that let you squat, jump or simply get up from sitting down. Here’s how this happens:

1. When you’re ready to make your move, your quadriceps tighten or contract. These are the large, powerful muscles in the front of your thighs.
2. Your quadricep pulls on your quadriceps tendon.
3. This tendon connects to your kneecap.
4. Your kneecap acts like a pulley, sending the power of your quadriceps muscle down to the patellar tendon. This ligament is just below your kneecap. It connects to your tibial tubercle.
5. You straighten your leg when your patellar tendon tugs on your tibial tuberosity.

Your tibial tuberosity also factors into how kids’ bones change as they grow up. It covers the growth plates at the top of kids’ shinbones.

Where is it located?

Your tibial tubercle is on the front of your shin bone. You can feel it if you run your fingers straight down from your kneecap. There’s a soft section right below your kneecap. Next, you’ll feel a raised section of bone. This is your tibial tuberosity. Your patellar tendon connects to the smooth upper half of the bony section. The lower half is rough.

What common conditions affect my tibial tuberosity?

Inflammation and injury are the most common issues that can affect it.

• Osgood-Schlatter disease (OSD): This disease affects the tendon that connects to your tibial tuberosity. Stress and strain on this tendon cause painful inflammation. OSD often affects kids going through growth spurts. Older adults may have pain at their tibial tuberosity when it doesn’t completely turn into bone.
• Avulsion fracture: This injury happens when a small piece of bone attached to a tendon is pulled away from the main piece of bone. In a tibial tuberosity fracture, the patellar tendon pulls a piece of the tibial tuberosity off your shinbone.
• Fracture: Rarely, a direct hit may break your tibial tuberosity.

When to call the doctor

Contact a healthcare provider if your knee hurts and you have swelling just below your kneecap. These may be symptoms of Osgood-Schlatter disease that can affect your tibial tuberosity. Get medical care right away if you have symptoms like:

• Sharp sudden pain at the front of your knee
• Pain that gets worse after doing things like climbing stairs, jumping or running
• Pain that doesn’t go away with home care, like rest or placing ice or a heating pad on that part of your leg
• Weakness in your knee — it may feel like your knee is about to buckle or give way