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Dr. Clifford Jeng, Institute for Foot and Ankle Reconstruction at Mercy, Notes How Neuropathy Can Lead to Foot Problems

Curled toes, an overly high arch, feet that turn in so your gait is not right…it is hard to believe that such problems can be traced to nerve disorder. But as Dr. Clifford Jeng, orthopedic surgeon specializing in foot-and-ankle issues knows, it is all too true.

Debbie Aikens has walked on the left side of her foot since childhood, and that has led to a number of foot problems, including a surgery last year that left her in greater pain.

"After a year, I'm tired," Aikens said. "I need answers and I found them.

Dr. Jeng at the Mercy Medical Center's Institute for Foot and Ankle Reconstruction said feet often display problems that begin elsewhere in the body.

"We see probably 20 to 30 patients a year where we make the first diagnosis of neuropathy, which have never been diagnosed before," Jeng said.

"She has a very high arch, and a bump on the side where she walks," Jeng said about Aikens. "She turns in this way and all the weight is on this prominence. That's what kills her the most."

The surgery will cut bones, release some ligaments and transfer some tendons. The goal is to get Aikens' foot flat on the ground.

Jeng said that while feet problems can happen to men and women, women tend to have more, because they don't treat their feet as well. He said women are too often putting their feet in high-heeled and pointy-toed shoes.

According to Paula Yutzy, certified diabetes educator and nurse with the Diabetes Center at Mercy, while you cannot tell whether someone has diabetes just by looking at their feet, symptoms of diabetes can be manifest in the foot.

“Diabetes can cause damage to the nerves; people lose feeling, for example, in their feet. This is dangerous because they may hurt their feet, and not even know it. Further, neuropathy of this sort can mean loss of feeling in nerves in the other part of the body as well. For example, can you imagine having a heart attack and not feeling it? For those with diabetes, this is all too real a possibility,” Yutzy said.