Fat pad atrophy in runners

One of the less common ways you can get pain in the ball of the foot is if the cushioning within the foot becomes diminished. If that happens it can feel like you’re walking on rocks or standing right on the bones on the ball of the foot.

If you think about it, when you stand up, your skeletal system, primarily the bones and everything that hold the bones together is what supports you. Obviously, you have a lot of bones in your foot. The bones are resting on top of the skin. So if you think about all that weight pressing down on the skin, what is it that prevents the skin from hurting?

Well, it’s your fat pad. It’s the natural cushioning or padding between the bones and the skin at the ball of the foot.

Today on the Doc On the Run podcast we’re talking about fat pad atrophy in runners.