Your tibia and fibula are the two bones in your lower leg. Trauma like falls, car accidents and sports injuries are the most common causes of fractured tibias and fibulas. Depending on what type of fracture you have (and any other injuries you experienced), you’ll probably need a few months to recover from a fractured tibia or fibula.
Tibia and fibula fractures are two broken bones in your lower leg. Your tibia is your shin bone. Your fibula is your calf bone.
Because they’re usually caused by major trauma like car accidents or falls, people often break both their tibia and fibula during the same injury. It’s rare, but you can fracture one of your tibia or fibula without breaking the other.
You might need surgery to repair your bones and physical therapy to regain your ability to move your leg.
Your tibia and fibula are the two bones that form your lower leg from your knee to your ankle.
Your tibia is longer and thicker. It’s part of your knee joint at its top (proximal) end and your ankle joint at its lower (distal) end.
Your fibula is much smaller and closer to the outside of your body (lateral) than the tibia.
The tibia is the major weight-bearing bone in your lower leg. It supports your body when you stand and move. The fibula only bears a small amount of weight near your ankle.
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Your healthcare provider will assign your fracture a type or classification depending on how your tibia or fibula is broken. Some fractures are classified by the shape or pattern of the break line:
Some types of fractures are classified by how they happen:
If you break your tibia close to your knee and it damages your knee joint, you might have what’s called a tibial plateau fracture. These fractures are rare (around 1% of all broken bones).
Your healthcare provider will classify your fracture as either open or closed. If you have an open fracture your bone breaks through your skin. Open fractures usually take longer to heal and have an increased risk of infections and other complications. Closed fractures have less of an infection risk — and are still serious — but your bone doesn’t push through your skin.
Displaced and non-displaced are more words your provider will use to describe your fracture. A displaced fracture means the pieces of your bone moved so much that a gap formed around the fracture when your bone broke. Non-displaced fractures are still broken bones, but the pieces didn’t move far enough to be out of alignment during the break. Displaced fractures are much more likely to require surgery to repair.
Your provider might reference where on your tibia or fibula you experienced a fracture. There are lots of terms providers use to talk about specific bones, but the most common ones you’ll see are:
Tibia and fibula fractures — like all bone fractures — can affect anyone. This is especially true because they’re caused by serious traumas. There’s no way to predict when or how someone will be in an accident, so everyone could experience a tibia or fibula fracture.
Tibia and fibula fractures are some of the most common long bones people break.
It’s very rare for someone to break their fibula on its own. Fibula fractures almost always happen at the same time as tibia fractures.
Compared to other issues and conditions, tibia and fibula fractures are rare because they’re usually only caused by trauma that most people don’t experience.
Symptoms of tibia and fibula fractures include:
Tibia and fibula fractures are almost always caused by trauma. Some of the most common causes include:
You’re more likely to experience a fracture if your bones are weakened by osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis weakens bones, making them more susceptible to sudden and unexpected fractures. Many people don’t know they have osteoporosis until after it causes them to break a bone. There usually aren’t obvious symptoms.
Women, people assigned female at birth (AFAB) and adults older than 50 have an increased risk of developing osteoporosis. Talk to your provider about a bone density screening that can catch osteoporosis before it causes a fracture.
A healthcare provider will diagnose a tibia or fibula fracture with a physical exam and imaging tests. In some cases, this may be done in the emergency room (ER) if you’re admitted after trauma.
If you’re taken to the ER, a team of providers will work to stabilize you and treat your injuries in the order of severity, especially if some are life-threatening. After you’re stabilized, you’ll need imaging tests to confirm your fracture.
You’ll need at least one of a few imaging tests to take pictures of your fracture:
How your fracture is treated depends on which type it is, what caused it and how damaged your bones are.
If your break is mild and your bones didn’t move far out of place (if it’s non-displaced), you might only need a splint or cast. In both cases, you’ll likely need follow-up X-rays to make sure your bones are healing correctly.
It’s very rare for people to fracture their fibula without breaking their tibia (an isolated fibula fracture). If you do, you might only need a soft cast or walking boot while your bone heals. Talk to your provider about what to expect with an isolated fibula fracture.
More severe breaks require a closed reduction to set (realign) your bones. During this nonsurgical procedure, your provider will physically push and pull your body on the outside to line up the broken bones inside you. To prevent you from feeling pain during the procedure, you’ll receive one of the following:
After the closed reduction, your provider will put you in a splint or cast.
Many tibia and fibula fractures require surgery. Depending on which type of fracture you have and how badly your bones are damaged, there are a few techniques your surgeon might use.
Your surgeon will realign (set) your bones to their correct position and then secure them in place so they can heal and grow back together. They usually perform what’s called an internal fixation, which means your surgeon inserts pieces of metal into your bone to hold it in place while it heals. You’ll probably need to limit how much you use the surgically repaired part of your body to make sure your bone can fully heal.
Internal fixation techniques include:
Some people live with these pieces inserted in them forever. You might need follow-up surgeries to remove them.
You might need an external fixation. Your surgeon will put screws in your bone on either side of the fracture inside your body. Then they’ll connect the screws to a brace or bracket outside your body that’s around the bone. This is usually a temporary way to stabilize your fracture and give it time to begin healing before you have an internal fixation.
After your surgery, your leg will be immobilized. You’ll need some combination of a brace, splint or cast before you can start putting any weight on it again or using it like you did before your fracture.
Fracture surgery complications include:
It might take a few weeks for your symptoms to improve. Depending on which type of surgery you had to repair your fracture — and which of your two lower leg bones were broken — you should be able to start moving again in a few weeks.
Contact your healthcare provider right away if you experience intense pain that doesn’t get better.
Follow these general safety tips to reduce your risk of an injury:
Most people make a full recovery if they break either their tibia or fibula (or both).
You’ll need physical therapy to regain strength and range of motion in your leg.
How long it takes you to heal depends on the severity of your fracture and which treatments you needed. Most people need a few months to recover from a tibia or fibula fracture.
There are lots of factors that can affect how long it takes your body to heal. Talk to your provider or surgeon about a timeline that fits your specific situation.
Your specific injuries and which bones are fractured will impact how long you’ll need to miss work, school and other activities.
Talk to your surgeon or healthcare provider before resuming any physical activities or playing sports while you’re recovering.
If you think you have a tibia or fibula fracture — or any other broken bone — you need to see a healthcare provider as soon as possible. Go to the emergency room if you experience any of the following:
Go to the emergency room right away if you’ve experienced trauma.
Your ability to walk and move with a fracture in your lower leg depends on which bone is broken, what type of fracture it is and what kind of trauma caused the break.
Your fibula isn’t weight bearing (it doesn’t support your body when you stand or move), so some people can walk with a fracture. However, you shouldn’t ignore pain or other symptoms in your leg. Even if you can move or walk, you should get your injury examined by your provider or in the ER right away.
It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to stand, walk or put weight on your leg if you have a fractured tibia. Because it’s weight bearing, it’s especially important that you don’t try to “play through the pain” or ignore any symptoms.
If you were in a trauma and you experience symptoms, go to the ER right away.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Breaking your tibia or fibula usually happens during an accident, fall or other trauma. It’s a big shock, especially when your ability to stand, walk or move like you’re used to has to change for a few months. You might need surgery, and you’ll need physical therapy and time to heal after the injury. Most people make a full recovery after a tibia or fibula fracture.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 06/01/2023.
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Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy