title: Does physical therapy and rehabilitation improve outcomes for diabetic foot ulcers?
abstract: One of the most common and serious complications of diabetes mellitus is ulceration of the foot. Among persons with diabetes, 12%-25% will present to a healthcare institution for a foot disorder during their lifespan. Despite currently available medical and surgical treatments, these are still the most common diabetes-related cause of hospitalization and of lower extremity amputations. Thus, many adjunctive and complementary treatments have been developed in an attempt to improve outcomes. We herein review the available literature on the effectiveness of several treatments, including superficial and deep heaters, electro-therapy procedures, prophylactic methods, exercise and shoe modifications, on diabetic foot wounds. Overall, although physical therapy modalities seem to be useful in the treatment of diabetic foot wounds, further randomized clinical studies are required.
authors.affiliation: Yasemin Turan, Kevser Bayraktar, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Adnan Menderes, 09100 Aydin, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yasemin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Turan
authors.affiliation: Yasemin Turan, Kevser Bayraktar, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Adnan Menderes, 09100 Aydin, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bulent M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Ertugrul
authors.affiliation: Yasemin Turan, Kevser Bayraktar, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Adnan Menderes, 09100 Aydin, Turkey.
authors.forename: Benjamin A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Lipsky
authors.affiliation: Yasemin Turan, Kevser Bayraktar, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Adnan Menderes, 09100 Aydin, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kevser
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bayraktar
keywords: Diabetic foot; Physical therapy; Rehabilitation; Treatment; Ulcer