Rehabilitation Science | Heel Fat Pad Inflammation

Another culprit of heel pain - heel fat pad inflammation

What is heel fat pad inflammation?

Landing mode

When you run, do you land on your front foot or your back foot?

Forefoot Midfoot Hindfoot

The landing pattern during running is divided into front midfoot landing and rear foot landing. The high heels and soft pads of modern running shoes cause runners to mostly land on their rear feet. According to statistics, 75%-80% of endurance runners wearing modern shoes land on their rear feet.

The heel of this group of people is under great pressure for a long time, which will cause heel pain over time .

What is the heel fat pad?

The heel fat pad is composed of tightly packed special fat chambers surrounded by tough round or tapered collagen and elastin fiber diaphragms. The heel fat pad provides shock absorption for the calcaneus . When the feet carry the whole body weight when running and walking, the pad plays a role in cushioning and absorbing shock, preventing the calcaneus from directly hitting the ground.

Heel fat pad inflammation

Fat Pad Syndrome is a painful syndrome caused by degeneration, inflammation or functional damage of the fat pad.

# Causes

Due to excessive running and walking, physical deterioration, recent weight gain, thin soles , etc., local exudation of the fat pad in the heel occurs and causes aseptic inflammation .

# Symptoms and characteristics#

The disease is heel pain, without radiating pain, and the tenderness point is slightly behind the middle of the heel. Its characteristics are obvious pain when sitting for a long time or landing after waking up, which can be appropriately relieved after activity.

Easy to misdiagnose! Heel fat pad inflammation vs plantar fasciitis

The symptoms of heel fat pad inflammation and plantar fasciitis are similar and can be easily misdiagnosed. In fact, there are significant differences in the causes of the two, and it is necessary to make an accurate judgment based on the patient's own symptoms so as to carry out targeted treatment.

Diagnosis can be made by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

The white area indicated by the arrow in the right picture is the inflammation area of ​​the heel fat pad.

How is treatment carried out?

(1) Reduce pressure: Wear thick-soled and soft-soled shoes on a daily basis to reduce pressure on the heel fat pad , reduce inflammation, and relieve pain symptoms.

(2) Physical therapy: such as ultrashort wave therapy and Chinese medicine ion penetration therapy, can improve local inflammation and relieve heel pain.

(3) Oral medications: Oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug treatment, combined with limiting the weight bearing of the affected limb and reducing the amount of activity, can promote significant relief of inflammation and pain symptoms.

(4) Biomechanical correction: The occurrence of foot fat pad inflammation is the result of excessive mechanical stress, fat pad degeneration and inflammatory response. The biomechanical mechanism mainly involves the loss of fat pad cushioning function, abnormal plantar pressure distribution and compensatory changes in gait . Early identification and intervention (such as orthopedic insoles and shock-absorbing shoes ) can alleviate symptoms and prevent further damage.

END

With the improvement of living standards, people are paying more and more attention to foot and ankle diseases. In order to provide the most accurate diagnosis and the best treatment plan, our team's gait analysis laboratory is equipped with the most advanced lower limb biomechanical analysis equipment.

①Mirror pressure test equipment: Mirror pressure test uses the principle of mirror reflection to intuitively observe the plantar pressure, arch type and biomechanical line of the lower limbs.

② Plantar scanning test equipment: Through 3D technology and white light mode projection, a 3D CAD model of the foot can be obtained through reverse engineering processing, which can accurately evaluate the abnormal conditions of the patient's lower limbs and obtain various foot data, such as foot shape, arch index, degree of inversion and valgus, etc.

③ Portable gait analysis equipment: Patients wear insoles equipped with sensors to perform a one-minute walking test, which can not only obtain the spatiotemporal and phase parameters of their walking process , but also obtain dynamic parameters , providing an objective and quantitative scientific basis, reducing the demand for space and manpower, and making gait assessment more efficient.

Through these advanced equipment, our team is able to provide each patient with the most accurate diagnosis and the most appropriate treatment plan, helping them recover their health and improve their quality of life as soon as possible.

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If you have any problems with your feet and ankles, you are welcome to come and consult us. Let us move towards a healthy path together!!!