After a fall, a kick or other accident, your fibula or shin bone may be damaged. In some cases, your fibula or tibia may even be broken. Read below about the symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and recovery of a broken tibia and broken fibula.

Tibia and fibula

The fibula is a bone located along the tibia. It is located on the outside of the lower leg. It is connected to the top and bottom of the tibia. The fibula and tibia come together at the ankle. At the top, the fibula is connected to the knee via the knee ligaments. In terms of length, the fibula and tibia are comparable, although the tibia is slightly larger. The tibia, like the fibula, runs from the knee to the ankle.Every year, approximately 1,000 football players in the Netherlands break their lower leg. This mainly concerns a tibia fracture, but also often a fibula fracture or a combination of both. It is therefore not surprising that shin guards must be worn in football.

Symptoms

A fracture in the lower leg – i.e. a fracture of the tibia or fibula – is easy to recognize. The patient almost always has severe pain . This pain is not only present when one wants to stand on the injured leg, but also when one lies down or sits. The pain usually gets worse when the affected area is touched. In most cases , the skin around the fracture becomes discolored, which is caused by damage to the blood vessel system around the fracture. In addition, the affected area may swell .

Diagnosis

A diagnosis is made mainly on the basis of symptoms of the patients and observations by the doctors. To determine with certainty that there is a lower leg fracture, x-rays are taken. These photos provide information about the severity of the fracture and thus guide the treatment. During the diagnosis the patient still has a lot of pain. The patient will therefore immediately be given painkillers.

Therapy

The location, severity and type of fracture determines the treatment of the tibia or fibula. In some cases, surgical intervention is not necessary. It is then sufficient to apply a plaster cast or a splint. However, surgical intervention is often required to heal the tibia fracture or fibula fracture. The bones are returned to their own position, after which normal growth does the rest. Because the bones have moved from their original position, aids are usually needed to hold them in their normal position. This prevents the bone fragments from shooting back during recovery. Such aids include screws, pins and plates and are delivered through the skin to the relevant bones.

Recovery

Once the fracture has completely healed, recovery can begin. Recovery initially consists of gentle standing exercises. This is usually initially done under the supervision of a physiotherapist. He or she teaches the patient to regain confidence in his or her leg. At a later stage, walking exercises are done, because the patient has not been able to walk for quite some time. Strength training restores the muscles in and around the lower leg to their previous level. This also partly relieves the injured area while walking. The entire rehabilitation usually takes several months and can easily last more than a year. However, this depends entirely on the location, severity and type of fracture and varies from person to person. In young people, a lower leg fracture usually heals faster than adults.