INDUSTRYNEWS
Diabetes-Related
Amputations Can
Be Cut in Half
with Shoe Inserts
Recently, a diabetes community website
located in the United Kingdom, www.
diabetes.co.uk/news, announced a new
study has found that shoe inserts, foot
care, regular checkups and other simple
interventions can reduce amputations
among patients with diabetes by more
than half.
The research was carried out by orthotic
researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy and
the University of Gothenburg, who have
been studying diabetic foot complications
since 2008, focusing on protecting the
foot from overloading the foot sole in
order to minimize the risk of ulcers .
For their latest study, the team assessed
114 Swedish diabetic patients at risk of
developing such ulcers who had lived
with diabetes for an average of 12 years.
Each participant wore one of three
different types of shoe inserts, and after
one year only 0.9 per cent developed new
foot ulcers during the first year, compared
to the figure of 3–8 per cent that has been
reported for similar diabetic populations.
“Our conclusion at the end of one year
is that all three types of inserts effectively
distribute pressure under the sole in order
to minimize the risk of ulcers.”
The study also revealed that only 67 per
cent of the patients had been offered
podiatrycare despite the fact that 83 per
cent had calluses.
The authors concluded that shoe inserts,
podiatry, information and regular
checkups can prevent ulcers and thus
significantly reduce the number of
diabetes-related amputations.
The findings are due to be presented next
month at the International Conference
on Prosthetics and Orthotics in
Hyderabad, India.
Doctoral student Ulla Tang said: “We
found that good shoes and inserts can
reduce pressure on the foot by 50 per
cent compared with going barefoot.
“The authors concluded that shoe inserts, podiatry, information and
regular checkups can prevent ulcers and thus significantly reduce the
number of diabetes-related amputations.”
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March/April 2013
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