CLINIC
As the second largest long bone in the body, the shin bone, anatomically known as the tibia, provides a huge amount of support to the rest of the body
YOUR EXPERT
Gabriella Pimentel is a lower limb musculoskeletal specialist at Pure Sports Medicine. She has previously worked with England National football teams and Olympic gymnasts. Puresportsmed.com
+ Anatomy
The shin bone is the largest of the two bones below the knee. It can be felt as the hard, central ridge on the front that connects the knee joint to the ankle (cue a song about the ankle bone connected to knee bone!). It attaches to the other lower leg bone (fibula) via a membrane, and it is these two bones that are crucial to supporting your body when you run.
Due to the tibia’s location, it helps with both knee and ankle function. There are many muscle attachments on the tibia, such as the calf complex, which is key in facilitating foot movement and pushing off from the ground during running. All the muscles in the lower limb are important for running mechanics, however, weakness in the calves can directly correlate to increased stress through the tibia.