Recent Advances and Future Opportunities to Address Challenges in Offloading Diabetic Feet: A Mini-Review

Recent Advances and Future Opportunities to Address Challenges in Offloading Diabetic Feet: A Mini-Review

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are a substantial dilemma for geriatric individuals with diabetes. The breakdown in tissue associated with DFU is typically a result of repetitive cycles of physical stress placed on the feet during weight-bearing activity. Accordingly, a key tenet in healing as well as pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Gerontology (Basel) Vol. 64; no. 4; p. 309
Main Authors: Crews, Ryan T, King, Abagayle L, Yalla, Sai V, Rosenblatt, Noah J
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Switzerland 01-06-2018
Subjects:
Aged
Biomechanical Phenomena
Diabetic Foot - etiology
Diabetic Foot - physiopathology
Diabetic Foot - prevention & control
Exercise - physiology
Foot Orthoses
Humans
Patient Compliance
Pressure
Shoes
Stress, Physiological
Temperature
Weight-Bearing
Wound Healing
Diabetes
Physical activity
Diabetic foot ulcer
Footwear
Offload
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Summary:Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are a substantial dilemma for geriatric individuals with diabetes. The breakdown in tissue associated with DFU is typically a result of repetitive cycles of physical stress placed on the feet during weight-bearing activity. Accordingly, a key tenet in healing as well as preventing DFU is the use of offloading footwear to redistribute physical stress away from high stress locations such as bony prominences. Over the last several years there has been a substantial amount of effort directed at better understanding and implementing the practice of offloading. A review of this work as well as relevant technological advances is presented in this paper. Specifically, we will discuss the following topics in association with offloading diabetic feet: achieving optimal offloading, dosing activity/physical stress, thermal monitoring to detect preulcerative tissue damage, adherence with offloading devices, and optimizing the user experience. In addition to presenting progress to date, potential directions for further advancement are discussed.
ISSN:1423-0003
DOI:10.1159/000486392