Effects of Traditional Bamboo Foot Care on Reducing Foot Numbness in Elderly Diabetic Patients

Abstract

This experimental study aimed to determine the effect of foot care with
traditional materials (a tool made from a half piece of bamboo) on reducing numbness in
the feet of elderly diabetic patients. Subjects were randomly assigned to either an
experimental group (n=25), which received foot care using a traditional half piece of
bamboo, or control group (n=25), which received education only. Instruments for data
collection included a demographic from and a monofilament for examining numbness.
Data were analyzed using t-test.
The results showed that foot numbness of subjects in the experimental group,
who received foot care and foot massage using a half piece of bamboo, was significantly
lower than in the control group, who received only foot care education (p<0.05). The
results of this research show that the foot care program with traditional materials was
effective in reducing symptoms of foot numbness of elderly diabetic patients.
Foot care education programs may benefit from the use of this traditional half
piece of bamboo. Therefore, nurses should have knowledge about foot care along with
teaching diabetic patients about foot massage to reduce numbness in the feet.