Ultrasonic heel pad thickness measurements: a preliminary study.

The heel pad has an important role in pain-free locomotion due to its shock-attenuation function. Various diagnostic techniques are available to measure heel pad thickness. Ultrasonic measurement of the heel pad is inexpensive, involves no ionizing radiation and is portable, making it an ideal screening technique. Measurement errors may occur between different ultrasonic techniques used to measure heel pad thickness. A new standardized ultrasonic technique was performed on 15 healthy volunteers. The ultrasonic measurements were compared with the measurement obtained from a normal non-weightbearing heel pad thickness ultrasonic assessment. The results demonstrated a significant mean difference (p < 0.001) between the two techniques. The 95% confidence interval of the heel pad thickness difference indicated values between 7.68 and 9.13 mm. These results suggest that a standardized technique reduces the variability of measurement error when using weightbearing ultrasound, allowing a more reproducible diagnostic technique for assessing heel pad function, and improving patient management.