Doctor doctor I feel like watching Operation Ouch!
You can watch them now on the free BBC iPlayer app.
If we look
you'll notice they're a bit squishy and if you feel your feet you'll notice they're squishy as
well and that's all thanks to a special bit of body kit we call the fat pad when you move about
these fat pads help protect your bones and tissues from getting damaged and put a bit of a spring in
your step the fat pads at the back of the foot are specially designed to protect your heel bone your
calcaneus and we can see why that's so important if we have a look at Billy's foot Billy's heel
though it's hard and jagged and if you didn't have a fat pack be really uncomfortable to walk around
on it and you could damage the bone to see how fat pads work we can take a closer look at one
now this is a cow's foot but it's a lot like your foot is it yes it is this cow's foot has been cut
down the middle so we can see the different layers here are the bones of the foot which are just
like yours and the hoof is like your nail and just like you cows have fat pads the cow's foot is more
similar to your foot than a chimpanzee even though they might be our closest relatives as they spend
most of their time in trees chimps do not need to rely on their fat pads as often as humans and cows
give it a squeeze Chris look at that fat pad that's amazing and what you can see really
beautifully there is how much the fat pad acts as a spring and this helps absorb and distribute
the pressure applied on the foot this gives me an idea for a fat pad experiment to the cupboard of
everything and I think the necessary foot samples are on shelf 241 in the corner here's an operation
you must perform. Head to wherever you download your apps to download the free BBC iPlayer app now
and watch brand new Operation Ouch! Well there you go Chris just what we need for today's experiment
now this is my foot look at those incredible fat pads exactly made of real fat wow do I get a foot
too you certainly do Chris this is your foot wait a minute what's up my phone doesn't have any fat
pad it's not that funny Chris especially when we're going to be seeing the advantages of fat
pads by dropping thing our feet from different heights I don't like the sound of this get ready
for drop test one height one meter can the feet handle it three two one drop brilliant work for
the fat pads perfectly protecting my heel bone by absorbing the pressure and distributing it
through the foot what about yours Chris well my foot survived too the heel bone the calcaneus is
a little bruised but the foot itself is intact maybe we're gonna find out that fat pads aren't
useful after all not so fast Chris now for drop test two we're going to two meters with
an increase of height and pressure how will the feet cope three two one drop oh I think we need
to see my foot again the fat pad's perfectly distributed the pressure cushioning the bones
ouch didn't go well for you Chris let's have a look at the damage without the fat pad to
cushion and redistribute the force it was focused causing the skin to burst the Innings of the foot
are starting to leak out also the calcaneus bone the heel bone looks badly broken now your foot
could get damaged like this if it didn't have fat pads let's see what happens if we go even higher
three for me
for me this is huge I feel nervous for both feet first up my fat pad foot three two one
wow not only is the foot ruptured the fat pad itself has ruptured but
it still absorbed a lot of the pressure and without it the damage to the foot
could have been a lot worse it just goes to show that if you jump off something too
high your fat pads can't absorb enough of the pressure to protect your bones
now my foot I have a very bad feeling about this it's a long way to fall three two one
Chris's foot and it's everywhere this is a disaster and exactly why you should never
jump from high heights so we've shown you that when you walk run and jump pressure is
exerted on your feet and they have incredible fat pads that act like a cushion absorbing
some of the pressure protecting you from injury and putting a spring in your step.
I think I've got a fever BBC iPlayer app fever I've just downloaded it for
free to watch brand new operation out whenever I want and you should do it too