A tibial spine fracture is an injury that deserves to be treated as soon as possible. At COPAC, you’ll find orthopedic and trauma specialists who can quickly assess joint damage and perform appropriate complementary tests, so you get timely diagnosis and treatment.
Below, we will expand the information on this topic to make our patients and the general public aware of what a tibial spine fracture is, what its most common causes are and what types of treatment exist for tibial spine fracture.
A rare injury in which a part of the bony bulge in the tibia called the tibial spine is partially or completely fractured by blunt force trauma. In the tibial spinal, the tibia joins the anterior cruciate ligament, this being an essential connection to maintain the normal stability and flexibility of the structures that make up the knee joint.
In the presence of a tibial spine fracture, the patient may experience the following symptoms:
Pain located in the center or anterior part of the knee.
Limitation in extending and flexing the joint.
Difficulty bearing weight with the leg (even standing).
Bruising and swelling throughout the knee area.
In children and adolescents, a tibial spine fracture can occur more easily due to the lack of union of their still developing bones. The main causes of a tibial spine fracture in adults are:
Trauma resulting from accidents involving bicycles, motorcycles, or cars.
Contact sports injuries.
Excessive extension of the knee due to sudden and sudden movements.
To diagnose a tibial spine fracture, the specialist may use an X-ray or magnetic resonance imaging to carefully observe the fracture, its displacement and the injuries that could be related to the event, for example: injuries to the cartilage or meniscus.
The treatment of a tibial spine fracture is not the same for all patients, therefore, the specialist must carefully evaluate the particular characteristics of the injury to give the correct approach. In these cases, the following are mainly assessed: the type of fracture, the displacement, the age of the patient and the functional compromise that the fracture could generate.
That said, treatment for a tibial spine fracture might include some of the following options:
The use of anelgesics and anti-inflammatories is generally indicated to relieve pain and reduce inflammation while the fracture heals.
In people with tibial spine fractures type 1 and 2, most of the time a cast or orthopedic support is applied to the affected leg while in the extension position for 2, 3 or 4 weeks at most; This can reduce the risk of joint stiffness due to prolonged immobilization of the knee. During this time, most patients are allowed to move with the help of crutches (without carrying out loads with the injured leg); however, this is something you should discuss with your treating doctor.
Currently, there are minimally invasive surgical techniques with which very good results can be obtained, not only aesthetically but also functionally. Knee arthroscopy is one of the most recommended procedures, being a type of “closed” surgery where the surgeon can reduce the bone fragment and fix it with anchors or screws back to the tibial area through small incisions. With this same technique, the surgeon can also reconstruct the anterior cruciate ligament to correct knee instability.
