The Diabetic Foot

How does Diabetes affect my feet?

Although diabetes is a condition that results in a person’s blood sugar levels being too high, it also affects nerves and blood vessels too.  This can reduce a person's foot sensitivity, this is called peripheral neuropathy. More than 90% of those affected will be unaware of this. 

Diabetes can reduce the blood supply to the foot which changes the muscle function, skin tone and can lead to food deformity. This places added stress on the foot where there is significant load, such as the balls of the feet and metatarsal heads. A healthy person would feel this added pressure and the resulting discomfort or pain, but a suffer of diabetes may not.  Pain acts as a warning sign, informing us something is wrong.  If the diabetic sufferer is unaware of the pain it will develop until the skin breaks resulting in bleeding or ulceration.

This condition can also result in objects penetrating the foot going unnoticed. This leads to ulceration and infections which in turn may lead to amputation of the foot or leg.

Patients should, at a minimum, have their feet assessed annually. At Firefly Foot & Ankle Clinics we provide a diabetic foot prevention programme. This includes:

• Detialed history
• Sensation output via a neurological assessment helps determine the level of sensation present.
• Musculoskeletal assessment looks at how the affected foot functions by examining the muscle and bone for any underlying deformities and assessment of skin tone.
• Footwear assessment is critical in minimising risk of complications. At Firefly, we advise