Whether you have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, or know someone who does, it affects every aspect of your life, making mundane activities and occurrences more important to take note of, especially when it comes to foot health. The question you may be asking is: how can BioPed Canadian Certified Pedorthists help care for my feet?
The answer is simple: we have the knowledge, skills, and products to make sure your feet are kept happy and more importantly, healthy.
- Neuropathy – this is a condition where the nerves in the feet become affected by high blood glucose levels. It may present as tingling and/or burning, or cause numbness in your feet. When this happens, you can’t always feel what’s going on, such as areas of pressure or pain from tight shoes. Due to the lack of nerve communication to the brain these concerns can quickly turn into much larger issues; couple that with the slower healing rate of diabetic clients and an avoidable area of high pressure can go unnoticed and untreated until it becomes a more serious problem.
- Corns and Calluses – These present as small areas of thickened skin, either with a pinpoint head or just as a general area of toughened Corns and calluses occur wherever there is high pressure or friction and the skin is trying to protect itself by thickening and hardening, but this can cause larger issues if left untreated. In someone with diabetes, the danger is that these callused areas can quickly become wounds due to a breakdown of skin. Any breakdown of skin can become infected and lead to further concerns.
- Diabetic Ulcers or open/slow healing wounds – when friction in the shoe is left untreated, or you happen to injure yourself (step on something sharp, stub your toe, or break a nail), it may not take a significant amount of time to heal if you otherwise have zero health concerns. However, it takes longer for most diabetic clients. If a diabetic ulcer or wound develops on the foot, it is a lengthy process to heal and recover, especially when the initial cause is left unaddressed. Bandages and wound care can only go so far in ensuring the foot heals, but offloading the pressure on the wound and giving it the time and space to recover is key!
- Swelling – as previously mentioned, sometimes blood flow can be affected by diabetes. Venous insufficiency can cause swelling and blood pooling in the lower limb and foot, making it difficult to find proper fitting shoes, especially if bandages and wound care are required on top of a distended foot. This often leads to footwear being worn that is too large, which in turn can cause rubbing and sliding in the shoe early in the day before swelling has set in.
How can a BioPed Certified Pedorthist help diabetic patients?
In short, a pedorthist can assess the foot for sensation, as well as biomechanical and structural issues. They offer proper shoe fitting assessments and orthotic care to take the pressure off painful or high-pressure areas. Pedorthists ensure proper fitting footwear meets the wearer’s needs with a variety of tools and offerings.
Custom Made Orthotics – Orthotics made for diabetic patients are much more accommodative. Key features often include a light-coloured incredibly soft top cover in order to see any residue from wounds and off load high pressure areas. Softer materials are used throughout the fabrication process to ensure no ridges or pressure that would cause friction against the foot, therefore negating the possibility of developing sores or blisters. Cushion is truly key, and the custom orthotics are able to be moulded around the contours of your feet, ensuring full contact and full cushioned support.
Over the Counter (OTC) Orthotics are generally not recommended for diabetic patients; usually they are made of firmer materials and have limited moldability to fit the exact shape and contours of the foot. However, when an OTC orthotic is in the hands of a BioPed Pedorthist, modifications can be made for improved foot structure, comfort and mobility.
Footwear for the diabetic foot
This can be a real doozy! When swelling, neuropathy, wound care and pain are all against you, finding a shoe that can handle all the daily struggles of the diabetic foot is a tall order. Where there is neuropathy present, it is important that the shoe not be fitted too tight or have seams that can rub against the foot or cause pressure; often diabetic patients will want a tighter fit to ensure they can feel their footwear when their neuropathy kicks in, but doing so can cause other issues, such as blistering, indentation, bruising from seams and callusing to occur. When selecting footwear for those living with diabetes the current condition of the foot and potential risks of what can happen to the foot need to be addressed. BioPed clinicians are trained to help you find the best fit for your foot.
A shoe style often recommended for a patient living with diabetes is the Saucony Echelon. This style of shoe has many benefits for the diabetic foot including coming in various widths, and being more stable and roomy throughout. It is a laced shoe, making the opening (throat) adjustable to ensure ease of donning and doffing by minimizing friction.
Footwear modifications
If you’re not in the market for a new shoe, but have a suitable, well-fit pair yourself that needs a few simple modifications to make it comfortable and appropriate for your foot, BioPed Pedorthists can make that happen! With our on-site labs, shoe modifications are another solution we offer you to complete the treatment plan necessary to keep your feet healthy.
Common footwear modifications for diabetic patients include, but are not limited to:
- Spot/ Full Shoe stretching: This entails leaving the shoe in our care for 48 hours where we place a shoe stretcher inside to stretch the upper material to make more room for your foot, or apply a ball stretcher to a specific spot that may need to be softened and stretched to relieve a point of pressure, such as at the side of a bunion.
- Addition of padding to elements of the shoe: Another common modification we make to diabetic footwear is the addition of padding along seams, the tongue, the heel and even the shoe’s insole to relieve pressure.
Additional diabetic footcare solutions
Diabetic socks – A company called Simcan and other diabetic socks are tailor made for the diabetic patient. They have no elastic at the top of the sock to ensure there is no digging in the ankle or calf, and they typically have no seams in the toe area that could otherwise cause indents or pressure, particularly in those who have neuropathy.
Medical Footcare – Most BioPed clinics have a Footcare Nurse or Chiropodist on site to serve your medical footcare needs, such as toenail trimming and corn and callus removal.
BioPed Pedorthists and the entire BioPed team are trained and ready to assist you with your Diabetic footcare needs from orthotics and shoes to medical footcare. The care doesn’t stop at the door! We suggest regular follow up appointments for our diabetic patients to ensure treatment is progressing appropriately, allowing us to change and adapt as needed to ensure your feet are healing and healthy. If you or someone you know has diabetes, foot health is incredibly important to their quality of life and impacts their lives daily. Relieving discomfort is what we do, so find a BioPed location near you or give us a call to book an appointment today. Good foot health is essential for all, especially those who have compounding health conditions. Let’s take care of our feet together and build a sustainable and comfortable life from the ground up.
