For people diagnosed with diabetes, and particularly those who experience many of the associated complications, such as sensation loss, reduced blood flow and deformity, wearing the right type of shoe is key to reducing risk of complications and protecting your feet from harm.
Below are the latest recommendations of footwear for people with diabetes.
| # | Recommendations |
| For all people at risk of foot ulceration | |
| 1 | People with diabetes should wear footwear that fits, protects and accommodates the shape of their feet |
| 2 | People with diabetes should always wear socks within their footwear, in order to reduce shear and friction |
| 3 | People with diabetes, their relatives and caregivers should be educated on the importance of wearing appropriate footwear to prevent foot ulceration |
| For people at intermediate or high risk of foot ulceration | |
| 4 | People with diabetes at intermediate or high risk of foot ulceration should obtain footwear from an appropriately trained professional to ensure it fits, protects and accommodates the shape of their feet |
| 5 | People with diabetes at intermediate or high risk of foot ulceration should wear their footwear at all times, both indoors and outdoors |
| 6 | People with diabetes at intermediate or high risk of foot ulceration (or their relatives and caregivers) should check their: a. footwear, each time before wearing, to ensure that there are no foreign objects in the footwear, or penetrating, the soles b. feet, each time their footwear is removed, to ensure that there are no signs of abnormal pressure, trauma or ulceration |
| 7 | For people with a foot deformity or pre-ulcerative lesions, medical grade footwear, which may include custom-made in-shoe orthoses or insoles, should be considered |
| 8 | For people with a healed plantar foot ulcer, medical grade footwear with custom-made in-shoe orthoses or insoles with a demonstrated plantar pressure reducing effect at the high-risk areas should be used |
| 9 | Footwear should be reviewed every three months to ensure it still fits, protects, and supports the foot |
| For people with diabetic foot ulceration | |
| 10 | For people with a plantar diabetic foot ulcer, footwear is not specifically recommended for treatment; appropriate offloading devices to heal these ulcers should be used |
If you need footwear advice or a diabetic foot assessment please call us on 8645 9800 or,
Reference:
Armstrong, D., Bus, S., Fitrudge, R., et al. (2018). Diabetic Foot Australia guidelines on footwear for people with diabetes. Journal of Foot and Ankle Research
