If a patient likes the cosmetics of the shoe, he or she will wear it longer. One of the factors to come from our May 15, 2002, Journal of the American Medical Association study was that one-third of the diabetic patients in our study who had problems were not wearing the therapeutic footwear. Another point was that our study patients, on average, wore slippers-not their shoes-three hours per day. A little patience in fitting can reap the benefits of compliance. Fortunately, there is a wider variety of shoes available for people with diabetes than ever before. But one thing will never change: function first over fashion!
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