Effects of gender and age on the range of motion of foot joints in Japanese diabetic patients

Although patients with diabetes often are well known to have limited mobility in their ankle joints, limited information is available regarding how this effect is distributed by gender or age. This study was performed to address these questions. The subjects were divided into four groups, i.e., 28 male diabetic older (MDO) patients (age range, 50 - 69 years), 14 male diabetic young (MDY) patients (age range, 30 - 49 years), 10 female diabetic older (FDO) patients (age range, 50 - 69 years), and 10 healthy male control subjects (age range, 50 - 69 years). Control age and gender matched (CAG) means that the control subjects matched with MDO patients in gender and age. The parameters examined were passive range of motion of plantar flexion and dorsiflexion of the ankle joint, flexion and extension of the first metatarsophalangeal joint, and pronation as well as supination of the subtalar joint. Each range of motion was compared across all four groups. The ankle ranges of motion for the MDO, MDY, FDO, and CAG groups were 55.4° ± 8.4°, 56.8° ± 6.9°, 60.7° ± 9.5°, and 69.1° ± 9.2°, respectively. The MDO and MDY groups had significantly decreased capability in this regard compared with the CAG group. In contrast, the first metatarsophalangeal ranges of motion for the MDO, MDY, FDO, and CAG groups were 82.9° ± 9.6°, 86.7° ± 13.7°, 90.2° ± 11.6°, and 96.3° ± 8.9°, respectively. The MDO group had significantly lower values than the CAG group, but there was no significant difference in the subtalar range of motion between these two groups. This study suggested that limited ankle joint mobility may occur in female diabetic patients independent of age.