Tibial Stress Fractures in Athletes

John J Feldman; Eric N Bowman; Barry B Phillips; John C Weinlein

doi:10.1016/j.ocl.2016.05.015

Tibial Stress Fractures in Athletes

Orthop Clin North Am. 2016 Oct;47(4):733-41. doi: 10.1016/j.ocl.2016.05.015.

Authors

John J Feldman¹, Eric N Bowman², Barry B Phillips³, John C Weinlein⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopaedics, University of Tennessee-Campbell Clinic, 49 South 4th Street, Apartment 208, Memphis, TN 38103, USA. Electronic address: feldman.john@gmail.com.
² Department of Orthopaedics, University of Tennessee-Campbell Clinic, 170 Alexander Street, Memphis, TN 38111, USA.
³ Department of Orthopaedics, Campbell Clinic Orthopaedics, University of Tennesee-Campbell Clinic, 1400 South Germantown Road, Germantown, TN 38138, USA.
⁴ Department of Orthopaedics, University of Tennessee-Campbell Clinic, 145 Greenbriar Drive, Memphis, TN 38117, USA.

PMID: 27637660
DOI: 10.1016/j.ocl.2016.05.015

Abstract

Tibial stress fractures are common in the athlete. There are various causes of these fractures, the most common being a sudden increase in training intensity. Most of these injuries are treated conservatively; however, some may require operative intervention. Intervention is mostly dictated by location of the fracture and failure of conservative treatment. There are several surgical options available to the treating surgeon, each with advantages and disadvantages. The physician must understand the nature of the fracture and the likelihood for it to heal in a timely manner in order to best treat these fractures in this patient subset.

Keywords: Athlete; Intramedullary fixation; Stress fracture; Tension band plate; Tibia.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Athletes*
Athletic Injuries / therapy*
Fracture Fixation / methods*
Fractures, Stress / therapy*
Humans
Tibial Fractures / therapy*