What Diabetic Foot Pain Feels Like

If you’re living with diabetes and have burning or tingling in your feet or hands, you may know what diabetic foot pain feels like. You may also be suffering from what many refer to as diabetic nerve pain. This condition involves damaged nerves that result from a disease or injury. The general restriction of your blood flow to the affected nerves can effectively lead to a degree of debilitating, chronic pain.

Nerve pain can make participating in and achieving routine tasks difficult and painful. In this article, we’ll discuss what diabetic feet are, the details of diabetic neuropathy, and top treatment options for neuropathy in feet to consider if you suffer from diabetic foot pain. With more clarity on what diabetic foot pain feels like and other significant details, you can achieve impactful wellness.

What are Diabetic Feet?

Diabetes is disease in which the body’s blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are higher than normal. Glucose itself derives from the foods a person eats, and the cells of a person’s body need this essential glucose as a source of energy. The hormone referred to as insulin exists to aid this glucose in reaching the body’s cells. If you have type 1 diabetes, your body can’t produce sufficient insulin or is unable to use it properly. Without sufficient levels of insulin, essential glucose can’t reach your cells as quickly as is typical or normal. This glucose then begins to build up in the body’s blood as a result, causing high levels of blood sugar. Foot issues and complications are common medical attributes of people with a present type of diabetes. 

These foot issues can develop over time as high blood sugar levels damage blood vessels and nerves of the feet. In addition to having what medical professionals sometimes refer to as “diabetic feet,” people with this foot issue are also at risk for further complications and medical problems. If you can’t feel pain, it’s possible to lack awareness if and when there’s a blister, cut, or ulcer. A wound such as this has the potential for further infection. This infection can improperly heal, owing to the damaged blood vessels causing inadequate blood flow in your feet. Having inadequate blood flow and an existing infection can further still lead to gangrene, involving skin, muscle, or tissue death.

What Is Diabetic Neuropathy?

Diabetic feet are a widely affecting medical condition that has the potential to greatly impact your health and overall wellness, owing to further complications and medical conditions. A degree of nerve damage in your feet is diabetic neuropathy. Diabetic neuropathy most often causes damage to the nerves of your feet and legs. Depending on your particular affected nerves, some of the potential symptoms of your neuropathy condition can include a degree of numbness or pain in the area of the feet, legs, and hands.

This neuropathy can cause medical issues involving the urinary tract, digestive system, heart, and blood vessels. You may also have possibly mild symptoms. However, for others afflicted by this particular medical condition, diabetic neuropathy can exhibit as quite disabling and painful. This neuropathy is a very serious complication of diabetes, affecting up to 50% of diabetics.

While this medical complication can affect many people suffering from diabetes, it’s possible to prevent or slow its progression. It’s possible to slow progression if you actively participate in blood sugar level management, in addition to having a healthy lifestyle. You can avoid many medical conditions, severities, and complications with care and participation in health initiatives. There are four essential types of diabetic neuropathy, and it’s possible to have more than one particular type. Your particular experienced symptoms can depend somewhat on the specific type you have, as well as the specific affected nerves. Symptoms usually develop gradually and it’s possible to not notice anything is wrong before you have considerable nerve damage. 

Treatment Options for Neuropathy in Feet

Once you have a physical examination to determine some of the specifics of your particular diabetic foot condition, your doctor may call for some tests, including imaging tests, blood tests, nerve function tests, a nerve biopsy, a skin biopsy, or other types of nerve function tests. One of your biggest treatment goals is to effectively manage the particular medical condition that’s causing the neuropathy in your feet, and to further relieve or resolve the present symptoms. Diabetic neuropathy currently has no known cure, so your primary focuses are pain relief, decreased progression, function restoration, and complications management. Keeping your blood sugar levels consistently in the target range is essential to delaying or completely preventing experienced nerve damage. Efficient blood sugar management has the potential to also improve some present symptoms. A knowledgeable podiatrist can help determine your target range based on personal factors.

We Treat Diabetic Foot Pain

Diabetic foot pain can feel very painful and has the potential to deeply affect your activities and overall quality of life without attentive care and continuous monitoring. If you are suffering from a degree of diabetic foot pain or other foot pain conditions, see us at the Foot and Ankle Specialists of Illinois. We provide the highest levels of quality care and treatment for a range of foot and ankle conditions.