Licensed professional nurse Phyllis Lopez performs a general foot exam on March
10 at the Cherokee Nation W.W. Hastings Hospital’s podiatry clinic. (Photo by Jami Custer)



By Jami Custer
Staff Writer

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Feet, like other body parts, are important to people’s health. Foot health is particularly important for Native Americans because of their high risk of diabetes, hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis, which can have significant consequences on the feet.

“Providing good care for your feet can significantly reduce the risk of experiencing some of the most devastating complications,” Dr. David Randall of the Cherokee Nation W. W. Hastings Hospital said. “Another reason foot health care is important is that healthy feet allow a person to be active and to exercise which helps prevent and /or to manage these diseases.”

Common foot health issues that people might experience with regards to diabetes and high blood pressure include peripheral neuropathy and peripheral arterial disease.

“Both of these problems can increase the risk of amputation of a toe, part of the foot or leg. Peripheral neuropathy is nerve damage that is often associated with diabetes and may be more severe or occur faster in the presence of uncontrolled high blood pressure,” Randall said. “Peripheral arterial disease is damage to the arteries carrying blood to the feet. This disease affects both the large arteries travelling from the heart through the legs to the feet, as well as the very small arteries and capillaries that deliver oxygen and nutrients to the different tissues in the feet.”