Abstract

Tibial stress fracture is a relatively common overuse related problem in athlete population. It usually develops in the transverse direction. This case report describes a rarely occurring longitudinal stress fracture of the tibia that may be clinically underdiagnosed. On radiographs this type of fracture may be hard to detect. Therefore, additional computed tomography or magnet resonance imaging should be used. The latter enables also to visualize earlier peri- and endosteal and bone marrow changes (so called stress reaction) already before the actual fracture line is formed.