How Diabetes Affects Your Joint Health

November 25, 2021

November is Diabetes Awareness Month, which calls attention to managing diabetes, as well as the steps people can take to prevent its development. For those with diabetes, their bodies struggle with insulin production and proper insulin use, leading to higher-than-normal blood sugar levels.

Most people know that, over time, unmanaged diabetes can lead to several serious health complications, including nerve damage, kidney damage, and cardiovascular disease. However, diabetes can also have a large effect on the health of your joints. In fact, those with diabetes have a higher likelihood of developing arthritis and several other joint disorders that can compromise bone health.  

What is Diabetic Arthropathy?

As diabetes progresses, diabetic arthropathy may develop. Simply put, diabetic arthropathy is joint damage that occurs over time due to diabetes. In part due to elevated blood sugar levels, the cartilage between joints deteriorates, leading to less cushion between the bones.

Diabetic arthropathy can manifest as several painful joint conditions for which diabetic people are at a higher risk.

Charcot’s Joint

Charcot’s Joint is also referred to as “Charcot’s Foot,” as it most often affects the foot and ankle area. Charcot’s Joint occurs when the nerve damage which results from diabetes deteriorates bone and joint tissue. Walking on nerve-damaged, numb feet can cause unnoticed injury. Untreated and improperly healed, this can lead to foot or ankle deformities, as well as increase the risk of diabetic ulcers.

Symptoms of Charcot’s Joint include:

• Joint pain
• Numbness
• Swelling around the foot and/or ankle
• Warmth radiating from the affected area
• Changes in the foot’s appearance

Frozen Shoulder

Also called adhesive capsulitis, frozen shoulder involves swollen connective tissue and chronic inflammation of the shoulder joint. While experts are unsure what, exactly, causes frozen shoulder, having diabetes does increase your risk of developing it.

Frozen shoulder occurs in three stages.

• Freezing Stage: the shoulder hurts to move, and range of motion decreases
• Frozen Stage: pain in the shoulder may decrease, but mobility and stiffness worsen
• Thawing Stage: stiffness and pain recede, and mobility gradually returns

Osteoarthritis 

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and is not directly caused by diabetes. However, your risk of osteoarthritis rises if you’re overweight, something common in those with type 2 diabetes, as there is increased pressure on the joints to support excess weight.

Osteoarthrosis can occur anywhere in the body—though it’s common in the knees and hips—where joint cartilage is heavily degraded. This causes painful bone-on-bone friction and chronic inflammation.

Symptoms include:

• Joint pain, stiffness, and/or misalignment
• Swelling
• Worsening balance
• Decreased joint mobility
• Muscle weakness

If you’re struggling with diabetes-related joint pain, Yuma Bone and Joint can help. Communicative and compassionate, our team has been serving the people of Yuma and the surrounding areas for almost a decade. Well-versed in the latest techniques for treating joint pain, we can help you get back to your normal routine with decreased discomfort. Contact our friendly office staff today to request an appointment.