ISPO Webinar to Focus on Diabetic Foot Screening, Early Diagnosis and Rehabilitation Management

The International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics will host an online webinar on 8 July 2026 focused on the medical management of diabetic foot conditions, including screening, early diagnosis and principles of treatment.

The session, titled “Diabetic Foot Medical Management – Screening, Early Diagnosis and Principles of Treatment”, will take place online via Zoom at 16:00 CEST and will be presented by Dr. Hans Ulrich Illgner from Germany and Prof. Gulapar Srisawasdi, Director of the Sirindhorn School of Prosthetics and Orthotics at Mahidol University in Thailand.

The webinar is particularly relevant for orthotists, prosthetists, rehabilitation teams, diabetic foot specialists, wound care professionals and multidisciplinary clinicians working across the Middle East, India and Africa, where diabetes-related foot complications continue to place a major burden on health systems.

Why diabetic foot management matters for O&P

Diabetic foot syndrome is one of the most serious long-term complications of diabetes. When screening, early diagnosis, pressure management and rehabilitation are delayed, patients face a higher risk of ulceration, infection, Charcot neuro-osteoarthropathy, deformity and lower-limb amputation.

For orthotics and prosthetics professionals, diabetic foot care is not only a medical or surgical issue. It is also a core rehabilitation and assistive technology challenge.

Custom insoles, offloading devices, ankle-foot orthoses, Charcot restraint orthotic walkers, therapeutic footwear and post-amputation prosthetic rehabilitation all form part of the broader diabetic foot pathway. The earlier patients are identified and referred, the greater the opportunity to preserve mobility, reduce complications and avoid preventable limb loss.

This is especially important in IMEA markets, where access to podiatry, vascular surgery, orthotic care, specialist footwear and multidisciplinary diabetic foot clinics can vary widely between countries and between urban and rural settings.

Focus on diabetic foot syndrome and Charcot neuro-osteoarthropathy

According to ISPO, the webinar will provide insights into diabetic foot syndrome and Charcot neuro-osteoarthropathy, often referred to as CN.

Charcot neuro-osteoarthropathy is a serious condition affecting people with peripheral neuropathy, commonly associated with diabetes. It can lead to progressive deformity, instability, ulceration risk and major disability if not detected and managed early.

The webinar will cover:

• early diagnosis of diabetic foot syndrome and CN
• clinical presentation and background of diabetic foot conditions
• screening and risk assessment
• surgical and non-surgical treatment principles
• German risk classifications and the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot classification system
• potential complications and risks associated with CN
• the role of rehabilitation in diabetic foot management

The inclusion of rehabilitation is particularly important for the O&P sector. Diabetic foot care does not end with wound closure or surgical intervention. Patients often require long-term offloading, footwear, orthotic support, gait management, education and follow-up to prevent recurrence.

A multidisciplinary challenge for IMEA healthcare systems

The IMEA region includes countries facing a rapid increase in diabetes prevalence, while also managing uneven access to specialist diabetic foot services. In many settings, patients first present when ulceration, infection or deformity is already advanced.

This makes early screening and referral essential.

Orthotists and prosthetists can play a valuable role in identifying risk factors such as pressure points, deformity, neuropathic foot shape changes, footwear problems, gait asymmetry and device-related skin breakdown. They can also support clinicians with appropriate offloading and long-term mobility solutions.

However, effective diabetic foot care requires collaboration between endocrinologists, surgeons, vascular teams, wound care nurses, podiatrists, orthotists, prosthetists, physiotherapists and rehabilitation physicians.

The ISPO webinar offers a timely opportunity to reinforce this multidisciplinary approach and to help O&P professionals better understand where their interventions fit within the wider diabetic foot pathway.

Rehabilitation must be part of diabetic foot care

One of the most important messages for the O&P community is that rehabilitation should not be treated as an afterthought.

In diabetic foot management, rehabilitation can support:

• pressure redistribution
• safe mobility during wound healing
• prevention of recurrent ulceration
• footwear and orthotic compliance
• post-surgical recovery
• Charcot foot stabilization
• gait retraining
• post-amputation prosthetic rehabilitation
• patient education and long-term self-management

For patients with diabetes, mobility preservation is closely linked to independence, employment, family participation and quality of life. Losing mobility because of preventable foot complications can have a profound social and economic impact.

This is why O&P professionals must be included earlier in diabetic foot pathways, rather than only after major deformity or amputation has occurred.

Access and registration

The webinar will be held online via Zoom on Wednesday, 8 July 2026, at 16:00 CEST.

Participation is free for ISPO members and EUR 15 for non-members. ISPO has confirmed that live interpretation will be available in French and Spanish, with multi-language live captions also provided.

Professionals can register for the ISPO diabetic foot webinar here.

For clinicians and rehabilitation professionals across the Middle East, India and Africa, the webinar provides an accessible opportunity to strengthen understanding of diabetic foot screening, early diagnosis, treatment pathways and the essential role of rehabilitation in preventing avoidable disability.

• ISPO official webinar page
• Register for the webinar via Zoom
• International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics
• International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot
• IWGDF Guidelines
• WHO: Diabetes
• Mahidol University Sirindhorn School of Prosthetics and Orthotics