Tibia Fracture (Broken Tibia)

A tibia fracture is the medical name for breaking your shin bone. Your tibias are some of the strongest bones in your body. It usually takes a lot of force to break one.

It’s common to break your tibia and calf bone (fibula) during the same injury.

Fractured shins are emergencies that need treatment right away. You probably won’t be able to stand, walk or put weight on your leg if you have a broken shin bone. Don’t force yourself to use or move your leg. Go to the emergency room if you think you have a broken tibia.

Symptoms of a broken shin

Tibia fracture symptoms can include:

• Pain
• Swelling
• Tenderness
• Being unable to move your leg
• Bruising or skin discoloration
• A deformity or bump that’s not usually on your shin

Broken tibia causes

Traumas almost always cause fractured tibias. Some of the most common causes include:

• Car accidents
• Falling from a high place (like off a roof or ladder)
• Sports injuries

Health conditions like osteoporosis can increase your risk of a broken shin. Talk to your healthcare provider about your fracture risk if you have a condition that weakens your bones.

How doctors diagnose a broken tibia

A healthcare provider will diagnose a tibia fracture with a physical exam and imaging tests. This might happen in the emergency room. If you’re taken to the ER, a team of providers stabilizes you and treats your injuries in the order of severity, especially if some are life-threatening.

Your provider will use a few tests to take pictures of your leg. They’ll confirm your tibia is broken and check for other injuries around your shin bone. You may need:

• X-ray
• MRI
• CT scan

Types of tibia fractures

Healthcare providers classify broken tibias in a few ways. They name some fractures for the shape or pattern of the break line:

• Transverse fracture (a fracture that’s straight across your bone)
• Oblique fracture (the fracture is an angled break)
• Comminuted fracture (your bone is broken in two or more places)
• Segmental fracture (your bone breaks in at least two places, which creates a segment of separated bone)
• Spiral fracture (the break line twists around your bone)

Providers define some fractures by how they happen:

• Compound fracture (open fracture) (broken bone pokes through your skin)
• Stress (hairline) fracture (a small crack in your bone)
• Avulsion fracture (a piece of bone attached to a tendon or ligament gets pulled off)

Your provider might use some other terms to describe the fracture, including:

• Displaced tibia fractures: A displaced fracture means the pieces of your bone moved so much that a gap formed around the fracture.
• Non-displaced tibia fractures: Non-displaced fractures happen when the pieces of your broken bone don’t move out of alignment.
• Distal tibia fractures: If you have a distal tibia fracture, it means your shin bone is broken closer to your ankle.
• Proximal tibia fractures: If you have a proximal tibia fracture, your shin bone is broken near your knee.
• Tibia plateau fractures: This is when you break your tibia close to your knee, and it damages your knee joint.

Tibia fracture treatment

A healthcare provider will suggest treatments to repair your shin bone and hold the pieces together while it heals. Broken tibia treatments include:

• Immobilization: You might only need a splint or cast if the break is mild and the pieces of your bone didn’t move out of place (it’s non-displaced). You’ll need follow-up X-rays to make sure your bone is healing correctly.
• Closed reduction: This is for fractures that aren’t severe enough to need surgery. Your provider will set (realign) your bone by pushing and pulling the pieces into place from outside your body.
• Internal fixation: Most people need this surgery to repair a tibia fracture. Your surgeon will realign the pieces of your bone to their correct positions. Then, they’ll secure the pieces in place with plates, screws or nails.
• 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. You may need external fixation before it’s safe for you to have internal fixation surgery.
• Physical therapy: After surgery, you’ll work with a physical therapist to help increase your strength, flexibility and mobility.

Recovery time

Most fractured tibias take four to six months to heal completely. More severe fractures take longer to heal. There are lots of factors that can affect your recovery time. Talk to your provider or surgeon about a timeline that fits your specific situation.

When should I seek care?

See a healthcare provider right away if you think your shin is broken. Go to the emergency room if you experience any of the following:

• You have severe pain.
• You can’t move your leg like usual.
• Your leg looks noticeably different or is out of its usual place.
• You can see your bone through your skin.
• You have new bruising or swelling that happens along with any of these other symptoms.

What can I expect if I have a broken tibia?

It might take a couple weeks for symptoms to improve after treatment. Your healthcare provider or surgeon will tell you how to manage pain during your recovery.

You should be able to start moving again in a few weeks. Your provider will tell you when it’s safe to resume putting weight on your leg, walking and other physical activities.