How to deal with foot conditions arising out of diabetes

Diabetes, also called the silent killer is one serious disease which affects health in a serious manner. The blood glucose commonly known as blood sugar level rises to an extreme extent either because of inadequate insulin production or because body cells don’t respond to insulin. Sometimes both may happen thus worsening the condition. The end result: several complications related to heart, eyes, kidneys, nerves and skin. 

When an individual is affected with diabetes certain foot problems can take serious turn. Even ordinary problems become severe. This happens because of nerve damage when your feet loose sensation. 

Alarming foot conditions related to diabetes

• Neuropathy How does it feel when your feet can’t sense anything! No pain, heat nor cold, even if you get injured. A stone or a pin may get tucked inside your shoes and you wear it the whole day without realizing anything. Your foot may get injured but you fail to notice it till the skin breaks down and gets infected. You don’t sense any painful blisters. Yes, this sounds really creepy and dangerous! This is what diabetic neuropathy can cause to your foot – serious nerve damage. Because of neuropathy, you may notice sudden changes in the shape of feet and toes, commonly called hammer toes, Charcot feet or Bunions.
  While for some these symptoms remain mild and unnoticeable for many the neuropathy can turn out to be painful, grave and even fatal too.
  
• Skin changes
Your foot skin may turn dry, start to crack or peel. This is because nerves which control oil and moisture fail to work properly.

• Calluses
Development of callus happens more often and the growth is quite alarming. If not treated in time, these can turn into open sores or ulcers.

• Poor blood circulation
Your foot loses the ability to fight infection and heal fast. Because of diabetes blood vessels of the foot and leg become narrow and hard. Poor circulation results in inadequate supply of oxygen and nutrition to skin and other tissues.

Foot care for diabetes affected patients 

As mentioned in the very beginning, diabetes being a silent killer, often gets detected at a later stage. However by leading a healthy lifestyle and consulting a physician on regular basis, it is possible to keep this killer disease under control. For particular foot conditions arising out of diabetes, it is better to get in touch with a podiatrist. Since foot care and diabetes are closely related only an expert “foot doctor” will be able to guide you about the right course of treatment. 

Many podiatrists recommend specially designed orthotics with Plastazote foam, for diabetic foot. Plastazote, also referred as soft tissue supplementation, are available in two densities. The softest density is used for cushion on top while the firmer density offers bottom support. The best thing is that after 2 to 6 weeks of usage they mold perfectly with the curves of your feet thus providing the right comfort and protection for diabetic foot. Many diabetic patients have benefited by wearing footwear containing Plastazote foam. However, make sure that the footwear has removable insoles, high & wide toe box, rocker soles and firm heel contours. 

By following a healthy routine and keeping close watch of your foot conditions you can avert severe outcomes. To ensure protection from cuts and bruises, try to wear shoes with socks most of the time. Using heating pads to keep the foot warm can be risky since you may not feel the rising temperature. If any cut or bruise takes time to heal then get in touch with your doctor. For appropriate foot care tips, do consult an expert podiatrist.

Foot pain exercises with orthotics

People will have some kind of foot problem at some point of their lives. Athletes injure themselves on a regular basis. Luckily, the medical technology to deal with foot problems has advanced to such a degree that people can get back to normal routines in no time at all. Some common problems that affect people are flat feet, neuropathy, shin splints, ankle sprains etc. A good combination of foot exercises and orthotics will help you overcome or combat your foot problems.

Flat Feet

When a person has flat feet, it means that the person does not have an arch that supports the foot. It can usually be identified early on in children and when treated then, it can go a long way in helping to mould the shape of the foot. There are special orthotic shoes available that come with a slight curve where the arch should be. This combined with a daily routine of simple foot exercise will slowly help the children develop an arch. If you are already an adult, using gel pads fixed inside your shoes helps alleviate foot pain due to flat feet. A physical therapist can recommend some foot exercises that will help with the flat footedness. 

Neuropathy

Neuropathy is symptomized by numbness in the extremities and is closely related to diabetes. Diabetics are prone to neuropathy. There are a number of precautions that one can take to deal with this foot problem. There are orthotic diabetic foot sleeves available that can cover the foot and keep it warm. There are soft sleeves as well as hard sleeves available and you can use them depending on the severity of your problem. There are advanced orthotic devices to help people who have progressed to more severe cases of neuropathy. The orthotics offer relief from pain, when moving about,

Shin splints

Shin splints can be very painful if left untreated for a long time. People, especially athletes tend to ignore the early warning signs of shin splints and go to a podiatrist only after the pain is unbearable. Orthotic shin supports made of light, durable material are available to give support to the leg. These orthotics are so comfortable that they can be worn in the nights too. Foot exercises that include stretching will help relieve pain and stiffness caused by shin splints.

Ankle sprains

When you sprain your ankle, the first thing to do is put an ice compress to bring down the swelling. Then it is a good idea to take an X-Ray, to make sure that it is a sprain and not a hairline fracture. There are various orthotics available to help deal with ankle sprains. There is hard orthotics that makes sure that your ankle has enough support when you do start walking. Softer orthotics can be used if it is a mild sprain. These orthotics are not permanent casts and can be taken off and put on easily and tightened to your comfort level. It is imperative to do foot exercises while recuperating as it helps your foot heal faster.

There are many other orthotic devices to help in foot problems that are more severe like fractures, tendonitis etc. Unlike earlier days where one has to have large and inconvenient plaster cast for fractures, many podiatrists these days prefer prescribing removable orthotics. This is particularly helpful when doing physiotherapy. You can remove the orthotics when doing your foot exercises and put them on after you are done. A podiatrist will be able to prescribe a foot treatment that includes orthotics and foot exercises to help recover swiftly.