Department of Neurological, Neuropsychological, Morphological and Movement Sciences, Anatomy and Histology Section, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
J Anat. 2011 Nov;219(5):622-31. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2011.01420.x. Epub 2011 Aug 17.
Heel fat pad cushioning efficiency is the result of its structure, shape and thickness. However, while a number of studies have investigated heel fat pad (HFP) anatomy, structural behavior and material properties, no previous study has described its three-dimensional morphology in situ. The assessment of the healthy, unloaded, three-dimensional morphology of heel pad may contribute to deepen the understanding of its role and behavior during locomotion. It is the basis for the assessment of possible HFP morphological modifications due to changes in the amount or distribution of the loads normally sustained by the foot. It may also help in guiding the surgical reconstruction of the pad and in improving footwear design, as well as in developing a correct heel pad geometry for finite element models of the foot. Therefore the purpose of this study was to obtain a complete analysis of HFP three-dimensional morphology in situ. The right foot of nine healthy volunteers was scanned with computed tomography. A methodological approach that maximizes reliability and repeatability of the data was developed by building a device to lock the foot in a neutral position with respect to the scan planes during image acquisition. Scan data were used to reconstruct virtual three-dimensional models for both the calcaneus and HFP. A set of virtual coronal and axial sections were extracted from the three-dimensional model of each HFP and processed to extract a set of one- and two-dimensional morphometrical measurements for a detailed description of heel pad morphology. The tissue exhibited a consistent and sophisticated morphology that may reflect the biomechanics of the foot support. HFP was found to be have a crest on its anterior dorsal surface, flanges on the sides and posteriorly, and a thick portion that reached and covered the posterior surface of the calcaneus and the achilles tendon insertion. Its anterior internal portion was thinner and a lump of fat was consistently present in this region. Finally, HFP was found to be thicker in males than in females.
足跟脂肪垫的缓冲效率是其结构、形状和厚度的结果。然而，尽管许多研究已经调查了足跟脂肪垫（HFP）的解剖结构、结构行为和材料特性，但以前没有研究描述过其在体内的三维形态。评估健康、无负荷的足跟垫三维形态可能有助于加深对其在运动过程中作用和行为的理解。这是评估由于足部承受的负荷数量或分布发生变化而导致的 HFP 形态可能发生变化的基础。它还有助于指导垫的外科重建，并改进鞋类设计，以及为足部的有限元模型开发正确的足跟垫几何形状。因此，本研究的目的是获得体内 HFP 三维形态的完整分析。对九名健康志愿者的右脚进行了计算机断层扫描。通过构建一种设备来锁定足部在扫描平面上的中立位置，从而最大限度地提高数据的可靠性和可重复性，开发了一种方法。在图像采集过程中。使用扫描数据为跟骨和 HFP 重建虚拟三维模型。从每个 HFP 的三维模型中提取一组虚拟冠状和轴向截面，并对其进行处理，以提取一组一维和二维形态测量值，以详细描述足跟垫的形态。该组织表现出一致而复杂的形态，可能反映了足部支撑的生物力学。HFP 的前背侧表面有一个嵴，侧面和背面有翼，还有一个厚厚的部分，一直延伸到跟骨的后表面并覆盖跟骨和跟腱的插入处。它的前内部部分较薄，该区域始终存在一块脂肪。最后，HFP 在男性中比在女性中更厚。
