Diabetic Foot Australia guideline on footwear for people with diabetes.
This guideline contains 10 key recommendations to guide health professionals in selecting the most appropriate footwear to meet the specific foot risk needs of an individual with diabetes.
Footwear for people with diabetes at-risk of foot ulceration
Recommendation 1:
Advise people with diabetes to wear footwear that fits, protects, and accommodates the shape of their feet.
Recommendation 2:
Advise people with diabetes to always wear socks within their footwear, to reduce shear and friction.
Recommendation 3:
Educate people with diabetes, their relatives and caregivers on the importance of wearing appropriate footwear to prevent foot ulceration.
Footwear for people with diabetes at intermediate- or high-risk of foot ulceration
Recommendation 4:
Instruct people with diabetes at intermediate-or high risk of foot ulceration to obtain footwear from an appropriately trained professional to ensure it fits, protects, and accommodates the shape of their feet.
Recommendation 5:
Motivate people with diabetes at intermediate- or highrisk of foot ulceration to wear their footwear at all times, both indoors and outdoors.
Recommendation 6:
Motivate people with diabetes at intermediate- or high risk of foot ulceration (or their relatives and caregivers) to check their:
- footwear, each time before wearing, to ensure that there are no foreign objects in the footwear or penetrating the soles.
- feet, each time their footwear is removed, to ensure that there are no signs of abnormal pressure, trauma, or ulceration.
Recommendation 7:
For people with a foot deformity or pre-ulcerative lesion, consider prescribing medical grade footwear, which may include custom-made in-shoe orthoses or insoles.
Recommendation 8:
For people with a healed plantar foot ulcer, prescribe medical grade footwear with custom-made in-shoe orthoses or insoles with a demonstrated plantar pressure relieving effect at the high-risk areas.
Recommendation 9:
Review prescribed footwear every three months to ensure it still fits, protects, and supports the foot.
Footwear for people with diabetic foot ulceration
Recommendation 10:
For people with a plantar diabetic foot ulcer, footwear is not specifically recommended for treatment; prescribe appropriate offloading devices to heal these ulcers.
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