The Calcaneal Fat Pad and the Preservation of Human Dignity

Abstract

Behold the calcaneal fat pad: a modest mass of adipose tissue humbly but strategically situated at the lowest point of our bodies. Indeed, these pads are our own living “doormats.” Beautifully bundled into elastic-bound chambers of fluidic cells, they passively, yet faithfully, with impeccable resilience, support our body weight in relative comfort. Each step a duty, each upright moment on call. Ever onward, quiescent, obedient. Yet, however resilient this servant, the calcaneal fat pad also is vulnerable, as undue forces can burst chamber walls and destroy its protective integrity. Forces such as heel fracture,1 running,2 and the like…. These causes are unintentional, manageable, and forgivable. Sadly, there are other causes. Falanga—where the repeated strikes of rifle butts crush bared soles and inner souls—leaves fellow human beings broken in body and in spirit, to be eventually returned to …