Chronically elevated blood sugars can also damage nerves that tell muscles how to move. This can lead to muscle weakness. You may have difficulty walking or getting up from a chair. You may have difficulty grabbing things or carrying things with your hands.
Over time, diabetes may cause nerve damage, also called diabetic neuropathy, that can cause tingling and pain, and can make you lose feeling in your feet.
Limited joint mobility
Eventually finger movement is limited. Other joints can be affected, including the shoulders, feet and ankles. What causes limited joint mobility isn't known. It's most common in people who've had diabetes for a long time.
Focal neuropathy can attack any nerve in the body and often causes sudden weakness. Peripheral neuropathy, the most common diabetic complication, can cause numbness or pain in the legs, feet, toes, arms, and hands. Proximal neuropathy may cause weakness in your legs and pain in your hips, buttocks, and thighs.
Peripheral neuropathy is the most common form of diabetic neuropathy. Your feet and legs are often affected first, followed by your hands and arms. Possible signs and symptoms of peripheral neuropathy include: Numbness or reduced ability to feel pain or temperature changes, especially in your feet and toes.
Diabetes is linked to two other conditions that raise the chances of foot amputation: peripheral artery disease (PAD) and diabetic neuropathy. PAD can narrow the arteries that carry blood to your legs and feet and make you more likely to get ulcers (open sores) and infections.
Also called focal neuropathies, these are more common in people with diabetes and involve damage to a single nerve. It may affect the shoulder, hand, leg, feet or face and may be caused by pressure on a nerve. This can cause weakness, pain, numbness or even paralysis.
Diabetic amyotrophy is a nerve disorder which is a complication of diabetes mellitus. It affects the thighs, hips, buttocks and legs, causing pain and muscle wasting. It is also called by several other names, including proximal diabetic neuropathy, lumbosacral radiculoplexus neurophagy and femoral neurophagy.
Having diabetes can damage the nerves and blood vessels that supply your legs and feet. This puts affected people at increased risk of developing ulcers on the feet and legs which can become infected, and in the worst cases, develop gangrene (where the tissue dies, resulting in the need for amputation).
(Reuters Health) - Diabetics with nerve damage are more likely to have an uneven stride and struggle to maintain their balance even when walking on flat ground, a small study finds. So-called peripheral neuropathy, or diabetic nerve damage, can lead to numbness and pain in the feet, legs and hands.
The symptoms of Peripheral neuropathy can include burning, tingling, numbness, and oftentimes weakness. It usually affects both feet, but not always – which is why peripheral neuropathy can affect walking.
Try to work your way to 10,000 steps per day or at least 30 minutes a day to cut your risk of type 2 diabetes. If you have trouble walking 30 minutes at a time, try walking in smaller amounts throughout the day, such as 10 minutes in the morning, afternoon, and evenings.
Peripheral nerve damage affects your hands, feet, legs, and arms, and it's the most common type of nerve damage for people with diabetes. It generally starts in the feet, usually in both feet at once. Other symptoms may include: Pain or increased sensitivity, especially at night.
Avoid soaking your feet, as this can lead to dry skin. Dry your feet gently, especially between the toes. Moisturize your feet and ankles with lotion or petroleum jelly. Do not put oils or creams between your toes — the extra moisture can lead to infection.
Diabetic dermopathy
The spots look like red or brown round patches or lines in the skin and are common in people with diabetes. They appear on the front of your legs (your shins) and are often confused with age spots. The spots don't hurt, itch, or open up.
Leg weakness can be caused by a variety of medical conditions, some of which are serious. Possible causes include stroke, systemic diseases, inflammatory conditions, nerve damage, muscle disorders, and medication side effects.
Muscle atrophy can occur due to malnutrition, age, genetics, a lack of physical activity or certain medical conditions. Disuse (physiologic) atrophy occurs when you don't use your muscles enough. Neurogenic atrophy occurs due to nerve problems or diseases.
Well, that excess sugar can damage organs like your eyes and kidneys, and it can lead to complications like nerve damage and heart disease. Diabetes complications could leave you blind, lead to amputation of your toes or feet, and maybe even kill you.
Significant nerve problems (clinical neuropathy) can develop within the first 10 years after a diabetes diagnosis. The risk of developing neuropathy increases the longer you have diabetes. About half of people with diabetes have some form of neuropathy.
Diabetic neuropathy has no known cure. The goals of treatment are to: Slow progression. Relieve pain.
Because many diabetic patients can't feel pain or have a loss of sensation in their feet and/or toes, ulcers or wounds can develop and become infected, and diabetic foot or leg amputation may be required if the infection isn't treated.
Wounds need to be checked often, at least every 1 to 4 weeks. When the ulcer causes severe loss of tissue or an infection that threatens your life, an amputation may be the only treatment. A surgeon will remove the damaged tissue and keep as much healthy tissue as possible.
From 2009 to 2019, the number of diabetes-related hospitalizations due to amputation doubled. But the good news is that most diabetes-related amputations can be prevented with lifestyle changes, blood sugar management, regular foot checks, and prompt wound care when needed.