Burning Feet or Diabetic Neuropathies| Which one do you have?

 

Authored by Dr. Burton S. Schuler,
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On a regular basis patient come to see me for help with burning of their feet. Many of them has been told by their family doctor or another physician that the reason for their burning feet is due to a condition known as “Peripheral or Diabetic  Neuropathies”. A lot of these people have been prescribed various medications such as Lyrcia, Cymbalta or Neurontin for this condition, but, have not gotten any better after using these drugs for some time. Why They are not Better. The truth of the matter is that many times these people have been misdiagnosed, and don’t have Peripheral Neuropathies but really have a Morton’s Toe (Long Second Toe) . The average physician is not trained about the Morton’s Toe (Long Second Toe) and does not understand how it can cause burning feet. This oversight occurs all the time but is really important if the patient is a diabetic. I wrote about this in detail in my book Why You Really Hurt: It All Starts In The Foot, here is what I said, Do You Really Have Nerve Damage Due to Diabetes or Just Bad Feet? Please allow me to tell you this story. You are a diabetic, and like millions of other diabetics, you are most likely either on a special diet and/or taking some oral medication or insulin. One day, you go see your doctor for a scheduled appointment. He could be a general practitioner, an internist or an endocrinologist (diabetic specialist); it does not matter. In passing, you mention that you have some burning or pain on the balls of your feet. Your doctor is concerned about this because burning, pain or numbness of the feet is a frequent complication of diabetes. He may think that you are now having serious nerve changes caused by the diabetes, which are called Diabetic Neuropathies. Based on his training and experience, this is a perfectly normal assumption by your doctor. At that point, your doctor will most likely do one of two things. He might send you to a neurologist (nerve specialist) to be examined, or he might write you a prescription. After several months of taking the medication, one of two things occurs. You either feel better, or you continue to have burning or other discomforts on the balls of your feet. If you still have burning, you go back to your doctor, and he will most probably tell you to increase the dose of your medicine. But, there is another possible reason for your feet to burn or hurt if you are a diabetic I have been a professional member of the American Diabetes Association for the majority of the years I have been a foot specialist. Because of that, I do have a pretty good understanding of diabetic neuropathies… What I have seen and believe is that the burning pain, especially on the balls of the feet of fairly healthy and well-managed diabetics, very often is due to Morton’s Toe (Long Second Toe) and not due to diabetic neuropathies. Of course, there are those people who will develop nerve damage from their diabetes, but typically, these patients have been diabetics for many years, AND have not taken care of themselves. This is not the average diabetic. What I am trying to say is that if you are a diabetic, and your feet burn or hurt, it is very possible that it is not caused by nerve damage from your sugar, but rather, it is due to the fact that you have a pair of crummy feet–You picked the wrong parents! It is very possible that many diabetics are taking medications that are not benefiting them when what they really need is to treat their burning, painful feet is a simple Toe Pad. Many physicians are simply not aware of what I just told you. In fact, they would be happy and eager to know that there was another treatment, other than medication, for their diabetic patients with burning feet. Regardless, you need to find out. If you are a diabetic, of any type, you should see your podiatrist at least once a year. He will then be able to evaluate your feet. Then you will know if your problems are due to bad feet or to diabetic nerve complications, or both. (Copyright 2009 Dr. Burton S. Schuler, ) If you are being treated for Diabetic Neuropathies or Peripheral Neuropathies and you are not getting any better check to see if you have a Morton’s Toe (Long Second Toe) .

Here is a youtube video about burning on the balls off your feet.