The tibia is the larger of the two bones in your lower leg, running from your knee down to your ankle. You can feel it easily because it sits right under the skin on the front of your leg: that's the hard ridge you might bang into a coffee table corner, which really hurts because there's barely any muscle or fat protecting it.

Doctors and scientists often call the tibia the shinbone. It's one of your body's strongest bones because it has to support most of your weight whenever you stand, walk, or run. The tibia connects to your knee at the top and to your ankle at the bottom, working together with the smaller bone beside it (the fibula) to give your leg structure and strength.

When someone fractures their tibia in a sports accident or fall, they usually need a cast and crutches for several weeks while the bone heals.