Fatigue fractures of the medial tibial plateau.

The effectiveness of a protocol for the detection of medial tibial plateau fatigue fractures using radiographs and delayed scintigraphs is evaluated. The high false-positive rate of early scanning generally requires delayed radiographs to make a definite diagnosis. If this lesion is suspected, however, early use of scans should be encouraged for several reasons, including the detection of occult but potentially more serious stress fractures elsewhere.