Can shin splints be differentiated from stress fractures on a bone scan?
Shin splints, or medial tibial stress syndrome, generally show linear increased radiotracer uptake primarily on the delayed bone scan images in the posteromedial tibial cortices. Stress fractures, however, are more focal with intense radiotracer uptake on delayed bone scan images and are often more anterior in their location. Stress fractures also commonly show increased activity on the first two phases of the bone scan, so any patient being referred for stress fractures should have a three-phase bone scan.
