Dr. Schuler talks about Preventing Diabetic Amputations

Here is a important article about Diabetes that was pickup national

Mortons’s Pad that can help prevent foot ulcers

People with diabetes mellitus, a disorder in which blood sugar levels are abnormally high, are at risk for foot ulcers.  If you ask Dr. Burton S. Schuler, Panama City Podiatrist, member of the American Diabetes Association, and Certified Wound Specialist, how to avoid the diabetic foot ulcers (wounds) that lead to amputation, he would suggest we consider how treating a longer second toe (Morton’s Toe) by placing a simple toe pad beneath the first toe impacts the creation of foot ulcers that lead to amputation.  www.WhyYouReallyHurt.Com

Diabetes mellitus’ elevated blood sugar levels cause blood vessels to thicken, becoming less able to supply the body with blood (http://www.hmc.psu.edu/healthinfo/d/footulcers.htm). Also, plaque is likely to build up in blood vessels (called atherosclerosis).  This causes poor circulation, leading to foot ulcers, which look like painful, red foot sores that can discharge pus when infected.

Foot ulcers start as skin calluses, and calluses can be caused by abnormal pronation from a longer second toe; this occurs when the foot repeatedly hits the ground incorrectly. Since diabetes causes foot problems due to nerve damage (neuropathy) and poor blood flow (diabetes can cause blood vessels to narrow and harden), a callus can become a serious complication for the diabetic.  Calluses can get very thick, break down, and turn into ulcers.  Neglecting ulcers can result in infections, which in turn can lead to loss of a limb through surgical amputation (http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/complications/foot-complications.html).

Many websites that address diabetic foot state that most amputations are preventable with care of wounds and proper footwear(http://www.foothealthfacts.org/footankleinfo/diabetic_peripheral_neuro.htm.)  However, they fail to mention how Morton’s Toe can be a cause of calluses and lead to ulcers and amputation.  Since ulcers occur on the ball of the foot or on the bottom of the big toe,  Dr. Schuler reminds us that treating a Morton’s Toe can help prevent calluses long before they turn into ulcers and require amputation.

About the Author:  Dr. Burton S. Schuler foot doctor, foot specialist, podiatrist  of Panama City, Fl and the director of the Ambulatory Foot Clinics Podiatric Pain Management Center  and is a leading authority on the Morton’s Toe,  Long Second Toe and it associated problems. He is the author of the newly published book about The Morton’s Toe, Why You Really Hurt: It All Starts In the Foot. The book is published by the La Luz Press, Inc and is disturbed national by the Cardinal Publishing Group.  Why You Really Hurt: It All Starts In The Foot, is the story of how one bone in your foot could be the real reason for pains thru out your whole body. It is important because it offer the public new information about why millions of people suffer everyday with aches and pains, and offers new hope to get rid of problems they believed they would have to live with forever. It literally can be the “medical missing link”

Dr. Schuler, graduated from the N. Y. College of Podiatric Medicine in 1975 at the age of twenty-four, and has been in private practice ever since. In 1982, he published his first book, The Agony of De-Feet: A Podiatrist Guide to Foot Care. During his thirty-five year professional career, he has written for Collier’s Encyclopedia and various podiatric journals and publications. He has been interviewed by The New York Times, First in Women, and other publications. Dr. Schuler has appeared on hundreds of radio and television programs both here and aboard. He is a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management, and the National Board of Podiatric Examiners. Dr. Schuler is certified as a wound specialist from the American Academy of Wound Management. His professional and civic accomplishments have earned his inclusion in the 1999-2002 Who’s Who in America (Marquis).