There are lots of reasons for pain under the heel of the foot. One of those, and not the most common, is that of Fat Pad Atrophy. There is a fat pad under the heel that cushions the impacts with the ground when walking. If there is some atrophy or wasting of that fat pad, then the ability to absorb impacts or shock is reduced. This can become painful. The reason for the atrophy is not clear.

Treatment of Heel Fat Pad Atrophy

The most logical way to manage Heel Fat Pad atrophy is to replace the loss of fat. There are two ways that this can be done:

1. The fat can be replaced surgically with an augmentation procedure.
2. You wear something in the shoes under the heel to cushion the impacts.

Just how well do those approaches work? The consensus and the research evidence is that they do work. The clinical experience is that they do work. HOWEVER, and this is a big however, they will only work if the atrophy of the heel fat pad is causing the symptoms. There are many other causes of heel pain and it becomes important to get the diagnosis right.

Related Fat Pad Atrophy Products

Our silicone gel heel pad is perfect for fat pad atrophy as it “replaces” the fat that is missing.