Diabetes can also Damage Joints says Senior Orthopedic Surgeon of Indian Spinal Injuries Centre

Not only Heart, Diabetes can Damage Joints too 

• The adverse effects of diabetes not only plays a catalystic role in aggravating heart disease, kidney damage and stroke but also can damage the joints.
• "Many people view diabetes as just a disease of blood sugar imbalance, but diabetes can also damage joints and destroy an individual's quality of life. It is an auto-immune condition that has a series of serious repercussions on the body and its various organs," said Dr Maninder Shah Singh, Senior Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Chief, Foot and Ankle Unit, Coordinator Sports Injury Unit, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre.
• According to Dr.Singh, diabetes affects the musco-skeletal system in many ways the most common of which is neuropathy or nerve damage.
• A paper published in Clinical Diabetes states that diabetic stiff hand syndrome or limited joint mobility syndrome is found in 8 - 50% of all type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients. On the other hand, carpal tunnel syndrome is found in 20% of them and adhesive capsulitis or frozen shoulder is estimated to be found in 19% of the diabetic patients.
• Because of the nerve damage and loss of nerve function, complications lead to numbness of the area.
• The Charcot Joint or neuropathic arthropathy is another condition which leads to severe, destructive generation of the affected joints most commonly found in the pedal bones. This is caused by loss of sensation which leads to repeated and unnoticed injuries in the joints.
• "Patients who walk on numb feet often suffer from injuries of the ligaments which they do not even notice since they do not have any sensation in that area. Trauma to ligaments can put excessive pressure on the joints which eventually causes wear and tear as well as deformities," Dr. Singh said. 

Source: DNA