One area where it’s nice to carry a little extra fat is on the underside of your heel. Your heel fat pad helps to protect bones and tissues from stress caused by everyday actions like walking, running and jumping. Over time, it’s natural for this heel pad to wear down a little, but if too much of this protective pad is lost, you may notice that putting stress on your feet is a little more uncomfortable. In today’s blog, we explore some actions and activities that can put extra stress on your fat pad and cause it to wear down too quickly.
Causes Of Fat Pad Degeneration
Expedited loss of the fat pads in our heels can lead to a few different foot issues, including fat pad syndrome and bone spurs in the heel. To prevent these issues and ensure every step remains comfortable, we want to shine a spotlight on four activities that may be putting excessive strain on your heel fat pads.
1. Unsupportive Shoes – We didn’t come out of the womb wearing shoes, so you certainly don’t need to wear shoes all the time in order to protect your heels. However, wearing the wrong shoe or a shoe that doesn’t provide the right support for the activity can lead to extra strain on your heel fat pad. High heels or unsupportive athletic shoes can either put added stress on certain areas of your feet or fail to provide enough protection during high-intensity activities, increasing your risk of heel fat pad loss.
2. Being Overweight – The more you weigh, the more stress that is channeled to your feet with each step you take. If you’re overweight or obese, your fat pads may degenerate faster as a result of this extra strain.
3. High-Impact Activities Without Ample Rest – We want you to exercise and challenge your body, but if you gravitate towards high impact activities and don’t give your feet enough time to recover after activity, you may be at risk of affecting the health of your heel fat pad. Box jumps and running can put additional pressure on our heels, and while they are a great way to physically challenge your body, be sure you give it some time off to recover after intense activity.
4. Watch Your Surfaces – It’s also wise to consider what surfaces you are exercising on. We understand that you’re not going to be able to take your basketball game outside to a grass surface, but harder surfaces naturally absorb less stress when we move, which puts more strain on your feet. If you’re training for a marathon or simply going for a run, consider running on a softer track surface as opposed to running on the sidewalk or road. Also, be sure to keep the above tip in mind and give your feet plenty of rest after intense activity on a hard surface as well.
If you keep these tips in mind and you reach out to a foot and ankle specialist in the event that your heels start hurting, we’re confident that you can keep heel fad pad syndrome at bay. For more information, or for help with a different foot and ankle issue, reach out to Dr. Silverman and the team at Silverman Ankle & Foot today at (952) 224-8500.
