Diabetes Leg Pain

Patients who suffer from diabetes often also suffer from leg and foot pain, but this is not something to overlook. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK) estimates that more than half of all lower limb amputations are performed on people with diabetes, so diabetic patients should pay close attention to diabetic leg pain.

Cause

• Leg pain in diabetic patients is most often caused by diabetic neuropathy, a type of permanent nerve damage that typically affects the legs and feet.

Symptoms

• Diabetic neuropathy symptoms include pain, tingling and loss of feeling in the legs and feet, sometimes leading to wasting of the muscles of the feet.

Diagnosis

• A doctor will perform a full physical exam before diagnosing a patient suffering from leg pain with diabetic neuropathy. A filament test, wherein a soft nylon filament is touched to the feet to see if the patient can feel it, is a common diagnostic tool used for diabetic neuropathy testing.

Treatment

• Mayo Clinic indicates there is no known cure for diabetic neuropathy, so treatment focuses on relieving the symptoms and stopping the progression of the disease. Your health care provider will likely prescribe oral medications for pain relief, and some patients receive relief from antidepressant medication, even if they are not depressed.

Prevention/Solution

• Preventing neuropathy requires keeping glucose levels under control, as researchers with the NIDDK believe that high blood glucose levels may cause the nerve damage that causes the leg pain.

Foot Care

• Patients with neuropathy often require surgery or even amputation because sores on the foot or leg are not felt and therefore are left untreated and become infected. Proper foot care, including daily cleansing, inspections, moisturizing lotion, supporting socks and shoes that fit properly, is essential for diabetic patients.