Heel pad thickness--a contributing factor associated with plantar heel pain in young adults.

Thirty-three runners were clinically diagnosed with plantar heel pain (PHP) and 107 runners were designated into a non-PHP group (NPHP). Cases were matched with a further control group of 64 subjects with regard to body mass index and age. A weight-bearing platform measured heel pad thickness by real-time ultrasound scanning.

Reliability of weight-bearing heel pad thickness measurements by ultrasound.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the intra- and inter-operator reliability of measuring weightbearing heel pad thickness in healthy subjects. BACKGROUND: Heel pad thickness has been reported to be an important factor in determining stresses observed in healthy as well as pathological feet. To date no published data are available on inter- and intra-operator variation in sonographic heel pad thickness measurements in adults.