Effect of foot soak with traditional Chinese medicine and foot massage on diabetic foot and changes of transcutaneous oxygen pressure

Objective:To explore the effect of foot soak with traditional Chinese medicine and foot massage on diabetic foot(DF) and changes of transcutaneous oxygen pressure(TcPO₂ ). Methods:Ninety DF patients were divided into control group(n=30), foot soak group(n=30.and foot soak-massage group(n=30). The control group were given conventional treatment, the foot soak group received foot soak with Chinese medicinal herb in addition to the conventional therapy and the foot soak-massage group were applied foot massage in addition to foot soak. The therapy lasted for a total of 14 days. The patients' foot symptom scores and foot TcPO₂ were recorded and measured the day before intervention and the first day after intervention. The efficacy was evaluated after the therapy. Results:After intervention, the score of the foot symptoms decreased significantly in all the three groups(P<0.01). The foot TcPO₂ of the foot soak group and foot soak plus massage group improved significantly compared to that before intervention(P<0.01). The foot TcPO₂ of the control group had no statistically significant difference before and after intervention(P>0.05). The foot symptoms, curative effect and foot TcPO₂ of the three groups had statistic significance after intervention(P<0.05 to P<0.01). Conclusions:Either Foot soak with traditional Chinese medicine alone or combined with foot massage can improve the symptoms and TcPO₂ of DF. The combination therapy is more effective than foot soak alone in improving the symptoms and TcPO₂ of DF.