Tibial Spine Avulsion Fracture

Heather Matheson, Trevor A. Lentz

DOI: 10.2519/jospt.2010.0414

The patient was a 32-year-old male who sustained a noncontact left knee injury during a quick pivot on a planted left foot, while playing flag football. Radiographs of the left knee revealed findings consistent with a tibial spine avulsion fracture, while magnetic resonance imaging confirmed a medial tibial spine avulsion fracture. Bone marrow edema was noted in a pivot shift injury pattern involving the lateral femoral condyle and the lateral tibial plateau, and there was also a fracture of the posterior lateral tibial cortex at the site of the bone marrow edema. To determine the best course of treatment, a computed tomography scan was ordered to better visualize the extent of the avulsion fracture. The computed tomography scan demonstrated a comminuted fracture through the tibial spine.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2010;40(9):595. doi:10.2519/jospt.2010.0414

KEY WORDS: computed tomography, knee, magnetic resonance imaging, radiography

The patient was a 32-year-old male who sustained a noncontact left knee injury during a quick pivot on a planted left foot. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed a medial tibial spine avulsion fracture.

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