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Signs, causes and complications of leg pain in diabetes
Diabetes is a very dangerous disease and can often lead to serious complications on the legs. Approximately 25-35% of people with diabetes develop foot problems during their lifetime. The likelihood of their occurrence increases with age. Foot problems in diabetes bring a lot of trouble to both doctors and patients, but, unfortunately, there is no simple solution to this problem yet. If such pain occurs, you should immediately contact a professional doctor, only he can prescribe the correct course of treatment.
The goal of treatment is to relieve pain in the legs (and ideally eliminate them completely), and maintain the patient’s ability to fully move around. If preventive measures and treatment of complications of diabetes on the legs are ignored, the patient may experience serious problems, up to the loss of toes or feet. Legs with diabetes mellitus hurt from the fact that, due to atherosclerosis, an excessively narrow lumen remains in the blood vessels. The tissues of the legs do not receive the right amount of blood, as a result of which they send pain signals.
Causes of foot pain in diabetes
Foot problems with diabetes usually occur in two main scenarios:
1. Nerve fibers are affected by chronically elevated blood sugar, as a result of which they cease to conduct impulses. This leads to the fact that the legs lose sensitivity, and this phenomenon is called diabetic neuropathy.
2. The blood vessels that feed the legs are clogged due to the formation of a blood clot (ie, a blood clot) or atherosclerosis. Oxygen starvation of tissues (ischemia) begins. The legs in this case usually hurt.
Signs of impaired blood flow in the legs with diabetes
Especially in old age, it is necessary to carefully examine your feet and legs every day. In case of violation of blood flow through the vessels, external early signs can be noticed. Peripheral artery disease has early symptoms:
1. The skin on the legs becomes dry, perhaps its peeling in combination with itching.
2. Areas of depigmentation or pigmentation may appear on the skin.
3. The hair on the shin in men turns gray and falls out.
4. The skin may become cold to the touch and permanently pale.
5. It may also become bluish in color and become warm.
Complications in the limbs in diabetes mellitus
Diabetic neuropathy is nerve damage due to high blood glucose levels. This complication of the disease contributes to the fact that the patient loses the ability to feel touching the legs, pressure, pain, cold and heat. Even if he hurts his leg, he may not feel it. Many diabetic people develop ulcers on the soles of their feet and legs. These ulcers usually heal with difficulty and take a long time. With weakened sensitivity of the legs, wounds and ulcers do not cause pain.
Even a foot fracture or dislocation can be almost painless. This is called diabetic foot syndrome. Since patients do not feel pain, most of them are too lazy to follow medical recommendations. As a result, harmful bacteria multiply in the wounds, which can contribute to gangrene and amputation of the leg.
With reduced patency of the blood vessels, the tissues of the legs begin to experience “hunger” and send pain signals. Pain may only occur when walking or at rest. In a certain sense of the word, it is even good if the legs hurt with diabetes. For a person with diabetes, this is a good incentive to seek professional medical help and strictly adhere to the prescribed course of treatment.
Problems with the blood vessels supplying the legs are called peripheral arterial disease. Meaning peripheral – far from the center. With a narrowed lumen in the vessels in diabetes, intermittent claudication begins in many cases. This means that due to severe pain in the legs, the patient has to stop or walk slowly. In the case when peripheral arterial disease is accompanied by diabetic neuropathy, pain may be completely absent or be quite mild.
The combination of pain loss and vascular occlusion greatly increases the likelihood of amputation of one or both legs. Due to “starvation”, the tissues of the legs continue to break down, even if the patient does not feel pain.
Diagnosis of extremities in diabetes mellitus
A doctor with experience knows how to touch the patient’s pulse in the arteries that feed the tissues of the legs. This method is considered the most accessible and simplest for detecting peripheral circulatory disorders. But at the same time, the pulsation in the artery is significantly reduced or stops only when its lumen narrows by 90 percent or more. And to prevent the “starvation” of tissues, it is too late. Therefore, with the help of modern medical equipment, more sensitive diagnostic methods are used. To improve the quality of life of a diabetic and relieve pain, doctors may prescribe surgery to restore blood flow in the arteries of the lower extremities.