What is the plantar fat pad and how is Luis Rioja’s injury treated? | OneFootball

Luis Rioja’s comeback at Mendizorroza was brief. He scored to give Valencia their first win, then his foot flared again.

According to Superdeporte, the winger has a plantar fat pad problem, the foot’s key shock absorber. He will miss Real Sociedad and now aims to use the international break to recover.

This is not a muscle injury, nor is it plantar fasciitis. The fat pad cushions impact and spreads load with every step, exactly the actions repeated when players sprint, stop, jump or change direction.

Pain can be especially stubborn because footballers cannot avoid the very movements that irritate it. Research has linked fat pad inflammation to repeated microtrauma, impacts, playing surfaces and footwear.

Rioja has already tried stopgap measures, cutting his boot and adjusting his studs to relieve pressure on the sore area.

Tests comparing running shoes with 12-stud football boots show significantly higher plantar pressures in boots, which hardly helps a tender heel.

The main prescription is the one players least want to hear, reduce load and impacts until the tissue copes again. Care is usually conservative, with relative rest, physiotherapy, adjusted training and added cushioning or offloading. Viscoelastic insoles may help lower stress on the area.

For a professional, walking pain free is not the benchmark. The real test comes when Rioja can run, accelerate, brake and turn again, and, crucially, do it in studded boots.

Source: Superdeporte

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”