• Change in weight-bearing physical activity (steps/day) [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months post-enrollement ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  

• Partial or greater depth foot ulcer (Wagner Gr. 1 or deeper) [ Time Frame: continuously post-enrollment for 12 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: Yes ]
  
• Falls [ Time Frame: continuously post-enrollment for 12 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  
• Self-reported foot disability [ Time Frame: baseline, 6 and 12 months post enrollment ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  
• Foot-related self-care [ Time Frame: baseline, 6 and 12 months post enrollment ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  

Physical activity is a vital component of self-management for patients with diabetes mellitus, yet there are special problems in patients whose disease is complicated by insensate feet (i.e. loss of protective sensation caused by diabetic distal symmetric sensory peripheral neuropathy). Foot ulcers develop in 15% of the 17 million people in the United States with diabetes mellitus, and contribute to 84% of foot or toe amputations. Foot ulcer risk is very high among those with insensate feet. Although the roles of neuropathy, plantar foot pressure, and footwear in foot ulcers have been extensively studied, the independent role of physical activity has not. The overall goal of this study is to determine whether a "lifestyle" physical activity intervention, based on the Second Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS II), which we call FEET FIRST, can be used to safely increase moderate-intensity physical activity (achieving at least 40% of maximal oxygen consumption, as in walking briskly) among people with diabetes and insensate feet. "Lifestyle" physical activity interventions help participants to accumulate at least 30 minutes of self-selected activities in short bouts during the day. CHAMPS II effectively and safely increased physical activity in sedentary older adults with multiple chronic illnesses.

Substantial research has also found that people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy are also at increased risk of falls. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy also leads to postural instability, i.e. impairment in measures of functional dynamic balance. Moreover, this instability worsens with age. People with diabetic peripheral neuropathy in particular tend to have ankle instability due to decreased proprioception, making them less able to rapidly recover balance during sudden ankle dorsiflexion, inversion or eversion when walking on uneven surfaces.

There is ample evidence that promotion of an active lifestyle and specific exercises targeting endurance, strength and balance improves reduces functional decline in the elderly, and that home-based exercise programs effectively decrease fall risk in the elderly as well. One small, non-randomized trial found preliminary evidence that a 3-week intervention that focused on ankle strength improved balance measures in those with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. However, no randomized studies have investigated the effect of a physical activity intervention on fall risk in community-dwelling people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy, who may also be at increased risk of cutaneous injuries (i.e. foot lesions) during weight-bearing activity. Before we unequivocally recommend to people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy that they engage in exercise, we need to determine that this will be safe for their feet, and not increase fall risk.