Painful diabetic neuropathy
Diabetes can harm nerves in the feet and legs. Care aims to ease pain, support daily life, and protect your feet.
What is diabetic nerve pain?
You may hear the name diabetic peripheral neuropathy or polyneuropathy. It means nerve damage linked to diabetes. The nerves that carry feeling from the feet and legs are often affected.
What might I feel?
Your feet may burn, tingle, or have sharp, shooting pain. Symptoms often affect both feet and may reach the lower legs. Pain can be worse at night. A light bedsheet may feel hard to bear.
Pain and numbness can happen at the same time. You may feel pain yet miss a cut or a spot where a shoe rubs. Less pain does not always mean normal feeling has returned.
How do we check it?
We ask about your diabetes, medicines, symptoms, and past care. An exam checks your skin, feeling, strength, and blood flow. Other tests may look for causes such as low vitamin B12 or thyroid disease. Not all foot pain in someone with diabetes comes from nerve damage.
What can help?
Keep working with your diabetes team on blood sugar and other health goals. A pain plan may include medicines for nerve pain and physical therapy for strength or balance. The best choice depends on your health and what you have tried. Do not change medicines on your own.
If pain is still hard to manage, we may discuss spinal cord stimulation, or SCS. Some systems have FDA approval for hard-to-treat diabetic nerve pain in the legs. The exact system and your health matter. A short trial helps you and your clinician assess the benefit before deciding on an implant.
SCS aims to control pain. It does not replace diabetes care, foot checks, or treatment of poor blood flow. We will discuss the expected benefits, risks, and other options with you.
Protect your feet every day
Check the tops, soles, and spaces between your toes each day. Use a mirror or ask for help if needed. Wear shoes and socks that fit, including indoors. Keep regular foot exams even when your pain is better.
Call your healthcare team right away about a new sore, redness, warmth, swelling, or another foot change. Do not wait for a routine pain visit.
Make the visit useful for you
Bring your medicine list and note how pain affects sleep, walking, and balance. Tell us what matters most, such as sleeping through the night or wearing shoes more comfortably.
Common questions
Can a painful foot still have numb areas?
Yes. Nerve damage can cause pain and loss of feeling in the same foot. Daily foot checks still matter.
Does spinal cord stimulation cure diabetes?
No. It is a pain treatment for selected patients. Keep following your diabetes and foot-care plan.
Is every spinal cord stimulator used for this condition?
No. Your clinician checks the specific device's approved uses and whether it fits your needs.
Sources behind this guide
Learn more from these professional and manufacturer resources. Your care plan and written instructions are specific to you.