Preventive foot care socks can reduce in-shoe plantar pressure in high-risk diabetic patients, the results of a small study published in the August issue of Diabetes Care suggest.

"High plantar pressure is an acknowledged risk factor in the development of plantar ulcers in the diabetic neuropathic foot," Dr. Adam P. Garrow, of Withington Hospital, Manchester, UK, and colleagues write.

They examined whether preventive foot care socks reduce plantar foot pressures in a group of 19 diabetics with peripheral neuropathy. Fifteen were male with a mean age of 65.5 years. The subjects were ulcer-free at enrollment.

The preventive foot care socks had a double-layer construction consisting of a padded outer layer to cushion the feet, as well as a low-friction fiber inner layer to reduce friction at the sock/foot interface. Differences in maximum foot contact area and plantar pressure for the whole foot, forefoot, and peak plantar pressure areas were measured. The effects of the preventive foot care socks were compared with those of conventional supermarket socks.

When subjects wore the preventive foot care socks, a significant increase in maximum foot contact area of 11 cm squared (7.9%) was observed (p < 0.01). This was accompanied by a reduction of 5.4 kg (8.9%) in total foot pressure (p < 0.01). At the forefoot, the contact area was increased by 14.2%, which was accompanied by a 10.2% reduction in peak forefoot pressure.

"Compared with the supermarket socks which were approximately 0.7 mm thick, the maximum thickness of the preventive foot care hosiery was 2.7 mm around the toes, metatarsal phalangeal area, and the heel," Dr. Garrow's team explains.