Many of us are familiar with diabetic neuropathy, the burning, itching and numbness that most often manifest in the feet. We know neuropathy develops when sugars are high, and we know the best way to avoid it is to keep our blood sugars down, as close to the non-diabetic "normal" as we can get.
But how do we treat it? Now there's a new approach. Remember "carpal tunnel?" That neuropathy-like condition affects the hands of secretaries and assembly line workers, and can be alleviated by reducing pressure on swollen nerves, often by a simple surgery. What about the feet?
Dr. Kent DiNucci, DPM, FACFAS, a Chicago area foot and ankle surgeon, recently suggested that some nerves in the feet pass through tarsal tunnels, similar to the carpal tunnels of the hands. Diabetes, with its elevated blood sugars, can cause nerves in the lower extremities to enlarge, from water build-up that follows the high blood glucose. As the nerves enlarge, they are increasingly squeezed by the tarsal tunnels, causing pain, interrupting blood flow, and, eventually leading to nerve deterioration.
Some of the symptoms we traditionally label as "from neuropathy," may in fact be results of this nerve compression, rather than from direct degeneration of the nerve trunk due to glycosylation of high blood glucose. Instead of just treating the pain, what about attacking the nerve compression, directly?
Dr. DiNucci's idea is to treat this "tarsal tunnel" condition as other surgeons have treated carpal tunnel, surgically "releasing" the tarsal tunnel and allowing the swollen, constricted nerve to decompress, thus allowing it to regain circulation and regenerate.
"For the best outcomes," Dr. DiNucci states, "diabetic patients should be evaluated as soon as they feel tingling or burning in their toes, well before extensive nerve damage occurs. This procedure isn't a cure for diabetic neuropathy, but it can delay eventual nerve degeneration."
Our thanks to ACFAS NEWS, published by the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, for the above information. For more information, see the ACFAS website: www.footphysician.com