SUMMER 2019 / DI ABETIC LI VING 19
Balance
EV ERY DAY WAYS TO
IMPROV E YOUR HEA LTH
When the Shoe Fits
Everyone needs good footwear. But when you have
diabetes, shoes are about more than just fashion.
BY CHRISTINE YU
It’s estimated that up to 50 percent of
people with diabetes have peripheral
neuropathy, a type of nerve damage that
affects your ability to sense pain and hot
or cold temperatures. And as many as
half may have no symptoms. “Normally,
if you have a blister, you feel it and stop
wearing a certain shoe. But if you don’t
have sensation in your feet, you may
keep wearing the shoe and walking on
the area that’s sore,” says Monara Dini,
D.P.M., a podiatrist in the Center for
Limb Preservation at UCSF Medical
Center. Those pressure points can turn
into foot ulcers and cause a cascade of
problems. But the right footwear can go
a long way toward keeping serious foot
complications at bay.
DORIAN2013 / GETTY IMAGES
