Further measures

There are various other measures that can help to heal a tibia fracture and alleviate the accompanying complaints.

This includes massages, fascial techniques and stretching.
In addition, electrotherapy and thermal applications have a positive effect on various areas. For example, they have a positive effect on muscle relaxation, increased blood circulation, pain relief and inflammation inhibition.
When returning to everyday life and sports, tapes can be attached for temporary support.

Surgery?

Surgery must be considered if the conventional therapy described above is not sufficient or if the body is not able to repair the injury on its own. This is the case with heavily dislocated fractures, open fractures, which are quite common among tibial fractures because of their superficial course, comminuted fractures or fractures involving joints. Care should also be taken if nerves or the blood supply are also affected by the fracture, which if left untreated can have serious consequences that are not reversible. Depending on the type of fracture, there are various surgical forms of treatment.These include the external fixator for open fractures or screws, nails or plates that are inserted until the bone has grown together and then removed from the body, since foreign material in the body always carries a risk of infection.

Anatomy

A tibia fracture is a fracture of the tibia that is usually caused by external trauma with a violent external impact and results in a complete disruption of the bone. Together with the fibula, the tibia forms the lower leg. At the lower end, both calf bone and tibia bone are involved in the construction of the ankle joint.

The two lower leg bones are connected by a syndesmosis, i.e. ligament-like tissue that can be affected by injuries such as a broken bone and thus impair the stability of the leg. The front edge of the tibia is easily palpable due to its very superficial course on the front lower leg. The calf bone only comes to the surface with its head at the upper end and at the lower end in the area of the ankle joint.

The shinbone is thus much more likely to be exposed to external injuries. Affected fracture sites are usually the upper end – the tibial head or tibial plateau, the elongated and narrower middle, the shaft or the lower end of the shin bone – the inner ankle of the lower leg.

The calf bone lies on the outside and is much narrower, its task is more supportive and cushioning.
The shinbone is the strong load-bearing bone. Its upper end is flat (tibial plateau) and provides the articulated connection to the thigh bone – the knee joint.