Can Magnetic insoles cause damage to the diabetic foot?

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A diabetic patient of mine recently inserted some magnetic insoles into his shoes. He had to cut them to shape himself. When he came to the clinic for his regular treatment, he had damage to the medial border of his right foot. His left foot was OK. I checked out his shoes and the insoles. Now it may be that he has just not cut and fitted these properly, leaving a slight gap between the edge of the insole and the shoe. (The shoes themselves also have some heavy duty stitching which can be seen and felt internally.) I used some fleecy web to cover both of these problem areas.
My concern is that these insoles (which are very hard and *nodular* could in fact be causing more harm than good?
I don´t want to dismiss this magnetic *treatment* out of hand, because in all honesty I have not yet read enough on the subject to form an opinion, but any thoughts on this would be appreciated
Regards
Leigh Patterson

 

The efficacy of magnetic therapy aside, if you feel the insoles themselves are appropriate and they will not part with them, I have a suggestion. Glue thermazote over the existing insole or sandwich the insoles between an EVA base and thermazote top cover. Some patients just must have such items despite your objections.

 

If the insole increases the shear and friction forces acting on the skin then yes. If not no

 

Look at it...

 

I agree Mike, my post was intended to offer a compromise. I am not saying that I compromise often if at all but years back this same scenario presented itself to me. The patient was not very compliant and her foot specialist asked me if I could sandwich her magic magnetic insoles in between a more appropriate pair of insoles because she insisted on wearing them. The magnetic insoles presented no problem as the magnets did not cause any irregular surfaces and could be embedded into a more appropriate Eva base and thermazote top.

As a practice I don't encourage magnets for insoles for any condition but the reality is we encounter all kinds . To answer Leigh's question based on what she describes the answer is no, they are not appropriate for diabetics as is.