Heel Pad Syndrome

The dense fat pad on the sole of your foot (corpus adiposum) surrounded by muscle fibres is a shock absorber helping to distribute your body weight and protect your bones and joints. Changes, often wear and tear, to the pad can cause pain and tenderness in your heels.

Rachel Miller is a highly experienced podiatrist who treats many patients for heel pad syndrome. Please see below if you want more detailed explanation of heel pad syndrome, its symptoms, causes and treatment.

Call 020 8348 5553 to make an appointment

Symptoms of heel pad syndrome

With heel pad syndrome, standing, walking, and other activities can cause pain.

Symptoms can include:

deep pain in the middle of your heel
sensation of a bruise at the bottom of your foot
pain on pressing your finger into the heel of your foot
tenderness in one or both heels

Causes of heel pad syndrome

When you age certain stresses and strains can cause your heel pad can become damaged, begin to wear thin and lose its elasticity which can produce inflammation and painful symptoms. If you overpronate or underpronate while you walk or run your heel fat pad may become damaged in the places where your heel strikes the ground. This can be especially found in endurance runners or runners with high arches which can be made worse if you train on hard surfaces. Heel pad syndrome also can be caused by an injury.

Treatment of heel pad syndrome

Treatments can include:

taping
icing
rest allowing your foot to heal
stretching and strengthening exercises
medication

The symptoms are similar to plantar fasciitis and if you have prolonged or painful heel pain you would benefit from seeing an experienced podiatrist who can properly diagnose your condition to give the best management plan to help treat the disorder. You may be offered footwear advice, heel pads, self-help advice, exercise and stretching regimes and you might benefit from a specialist biomechanical assessment. A bespoke orthotic insole can be prescribed which supports and cushion the foot and may reduce pain on impact on walking and running.

Contact the Centre for an appointment on 020 8348 5553

Rachel Miller is a highly experienced podiatrist and a specialist in biomechanics who sees many patients for heel pain. Her clinic is at the Highgate Health Centre in Highgate village, N6, London every weekend on either Saturday or Sunday and every Tuesday and Wednesday. Contact the Centre for an appointment on 020 8348 5553. For clinic directions and maps see the Contact page and for information about orthotic insoles and biomechanics see the Biomechanics page.

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