A numb foot can still hurt intensely when a person has a diabetes-related ulcer. Patients in a University of Gothenburg study described sudden bouts of pain that interrupted sleep and made it hard to plan everyday activities, even though parts of their feet had lost sensation.
Some patients said staff treating their wounds rarely asked about pain, and they felt awkward bringing it up themselves. The findings suggest that asking directly about pain during wound care could uncover a problem that is easy to miss when the visit focuses on healing.
Foot ulcers are open sores that can be slow to heal. In people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, poor blood flow and nerve damage can contribute to ulcers, especially in areas that bear pressure, such as the heel, toes and ball of the foot.
Reduced feeling can make it harder to notice an injury or pressure from a shoe. The patients’ accounts show how loss of sensation and sharp pain can exist in the same foot, sometimes at different moments of the day.
District nurse Anneli Ringblom explored those experiences in a doctoral thesis that drew on patient surveys and interviews. The work asked how people experienced pain, how it affected their lives...