Whenever you walk, run, or … 1 And while it’s true that many people have plantar fasciitis and heel fat pad syndrome at the same time, it’s helpful to understand the difference between the two conditions: Plantar fasciitis (or plantar fasciosis) is a painful condition caused by damage or deterioration to the arch of the foot, the fibrous band of tissue that runs between your heel and the ball of your foot. Fat pad irritation/inflammation can be very similar to heel bone bruising. When pushing on the bottom on the feet in someone with heel fat pad atrophy, you can sometimes even feel the bones through the skin, Hanna said. Posted on Mar 01st, 2018 / Fat pads in these two regions are necessary to cushion your heel strikes and push off. It is easy to feel, simply press the soft flesh under your heel, and you are pressing the heel fat pad. As the arch of the foot breaks down and struggles to absorb and distribute impact, the fat pad of the heel can be strained, worn, and injured much more quickly than usual. It is especially thick and resilient in the heel. Learning about this syndrome can help you avoid it or treat it successfully: Ideally, the fat pad of the heel is thick and dense, the perfect cushion for the bones of your heel and foot. © 2020 RehabMyPatient.com - All Rights Reserved | Privacy policy. For many, this change in anatomy predisposes individuals for problems such as metatarsalgia, capsulitis and bursitis which can all make walking and standing painful and laborious. 7 Instead of the tibia in the back is the calcaneus in the front. Sometimes this pad can become irritated or inflamed and that often occurs when too much pressure is placed through the … Vary the types of exercise that you do (e.g. Shoe inserts can be useful for cushioning and distributing force through the feet.  Orthotics can also be used to alter the biomechanics of your feet to reduce load going into the heel. Mean values for right and left uncom-pressed heel pad thickness were 13.8 and 13.7 mm, respectively. This is composed of an elastic fibrous tissue septa (Latin for something that encloses) separating closely packed fat cells. Walking or running on hard surfaces while barefoot can quickly lead to a thinning, strained heel fat pad or bruising to the heel bone. It becomes more common with age. As we age, the very important fat pads on the bottom of our feet which act as shock absorbing cushions begin to shrink and shift. By Noelle Ihli, medically reviewed by Dr. Kimberly Langdon, M.D. A healthy arch acts as a spring, absorbing and distributing the impact of physical activity properly. Fat Pad Atrophy Heel Chief Complaint. Acute rupture of the plantar fascia is relatively rare, even given the widespread incidence of chronic plantar fasciitis. Additionally, accessory muscles may cause heel pain. We use necessary cookies to make our site work. The force and impact that your feet absorb when you walk is 2.5 times the weight of your body. This anatomic architecture acts as a shock absorber at heel strike (5,13). We'd also like to set optional analytics The most common accessory muscle is the accessory soleus muscle, which may cause posteromedial ankle pain. Without constant strain and impact reinjuring the area, the body can regenerate your natural fat cushion! Heel pain may arise from the fat pad itself. Atrophy of the fat cushion on the plantar aspect of the foot, whether the heel or the forefoot, is an area of interest for many foot and ankle surgeons. Sometimes this pad can become irritated or inflamed and that often occurs when too much pressure is placed through the heel, as described above. They distribute your body weight and protect the bones and joints of the foot. © Heel that Pain 2001 – 2020, all rights reserved, HeelThatPain.com, Full Length Heel Seats with Arch Support (Renewal), Accepted by American Podiatric Medical Association, Clinical Study proves the Fascia-Bar™ really works, Pain that’s most severe toward the front of the heel (closer to the toes) and instep, Sharp pain or dull, aching pain that is usually worse in the morning, Pain that improves with rest and stretching, Pain that is a little duller (more like a bruise), and felt closer to the middle of your heel, Pain that you can recreate by pressing your finger into the middle of your heel pad, Pain that is made worse when you walk on hard surfaces.

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