Diabetic Heel Pain

by Francis
(Chennai)

QUESTION: I eat normal food , less salt and sugar. More wheat and ragi.


I drink juices of karela and Fenugreek. Why do i have a nagging pain in my heel?



ANSWER: Hi Francis,

In purpose to understand what the exact problem is, every doctor thinks, which are the structures situated in the painful area and which are the most probable reasons.

First of all, you have to know that heel pain is related to specific diseases that come with age. Furthermore, several medical conditions observed with age cause the heel pain too.

  • Now, please understand that there are many anatomical structures in the heel, including the muscles, tendons, nerves, blood vessels and bones.

    Therefore, the most probable reason of the heel pain is something related to the damage of the respective structures.

    a. If you are a teenager, the most probable cause of this pain is trauma or plantar fasciitis. The acute trauma is causing pain for a period of two weeks, and chronic one is causing pain, only when the weather is changing.

    However, the plantar fasciitis is something very dangerous observed not only in the teenagers, but even in adult patients.

    What is more, this condition may appear as a result of infection or when you are walking or running too much. These agents are causing inflammation of the plantar fascia that becomes very painful.

    b.There are several other diseases that cause the heel pain, but they are generally observed in women above 50. Because of the hormone changes in the female organism, after a specific age, the structure of the bones is changing.

    These hormone
    changes are leading to osteoarthritis (OA) or osteoporosis (OP). OA is represented by a calcification of the joints, which is very painful process.

    In this case the overgrowth of the bone tissue presses the nerves which are passing by. This leads to nerve damage and a lot of pain.

    OP is a disease during which the amount of bone tissue in the organism is reduced. This is very dangerous condition because the bones and the joints are becoming more pliable to fractures.

    c. You have to know that if you are suffering from diabetes, you may have pain in the heel, especially when you are walking or running, and no pain when you are standing or are in bed.

    This condition is known as intermitted claudication. The pain in you heel or in whole feet is so strong that causes you to stop walking.

    Intermitted claudication is appearing as result of microangiopathy, which is reducing the blood flow to the muscles. Because of the reduced blood flow, the muscles are not receiving enough oxygen and glucose for their function - constriction.

  • With regards to Karela juice and Fenugreek juice, please understand that they are beverages used to control the blood glucose level and the lipid metabolism.

    These juices are stimulating the effect of the drug therapy in patients with diabetes. If you are having diabetes, you should not stop taking your medications, because in patients with diabetes, these juices are not so effective when taken alone.

    In addition, these juices are also recommended for those who are not having diabetes or for those who are trying to prevent its development.

    Hope it helped! All the best!

    Dr.Alba

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