If you have diabetes and you suffer from diabetic neuropathy, a type of nerve pain that affects your legs, feet, hands or arms, exercise may be the last thing you want to do. But research has shown that exercise can slow the progression of pain from diabetic nerve damage.
There’s no quick fix, but diabetes is a lifelong condition, so you should always think long-term when it comes to managing the disease. And the best way to manage diabetes in the long run is to implement lifestyle changes that can have a positive impact on or at least lessen the symptoms of diabetic complications such as neuropathy.
In conjunction with a healthy diet, exercise helps control blood sugar levels and shed pounds if you’re overweight, both of which help protect yourself from diabetic nerve damage. Just be sure to check with your doctor before you begin an exercise program, as you don’t want to make your neuropathy worse. Once your doctor gives you the go-ahead, here are some tips to help you get started.
Tip #1: Stick to Low-Impact Exercise
Low impact, or even non-weight bearing exercise, is the safest form of exercise on your joints, especially if you have previously been sedentary. Good low impact exercises include swimming, water aerobics, yoga, and cycling. You can ride a stationary or recumbent bike in the gym, or find a bike that’s appropriate for your size and ability to ride outside.
Tip #2: Try to Exercise Daily
To reap the maximum benefits of exercise, you should exercise in such as way as to moderately increase your heart rate for 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week. You can start with 10 minutes and work up to 30, or break up the 30 minutes into 10 minute intervals. The good news is that household chores, such as sweeping, vacuuming and raking leaves, count as aerobic activity. When you go out for appointments or errands, park further away from your destination and walk, and take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Tip #3: Mix It Up
Along with aerobic exercise, incorporate strength training (with weights or resistance bands) and stretching into your fitness routine. Strength training helps build muscle, which improves metabolism, and stretching improves flexibility, which can help prevent injury.
Tip #4: Do What You Enjoy
This is key to maintaining an exercise routine. If you don’t like going to the gym, take the dog for a brisk walk instead, ride your bike along a scenic route, try a dance class with your spouse or partner or even buy a Wii Fit and find an activity that interests you.
Tip #5: Enlist Support
Go to the gym or make a date to exercise with a friend a family member. Drawing motivation and encouragement from someone else can help you stick to a routine, not to mention make exercising more enjoyable. If you want to meet new people and try something new (or rediscover a sport you use to do), join a local club, team or league.
Get Moving!
There are any number of activities you can do to get moving on a daily basis. Thirty minutes or more of daily exercise can improve your blood sugar levels and help lessen the impact of diabetic complications such as nerve pain. Be sure to check your blood sugar before and after you exercise so you understand how your body and medications react to different forms of exercise.
Managing diabetes is a lifelong process, so you have to make the commitment to exercise and be consistent to realize the benefits.
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