Diabetes is the most common “Silent Killer,” which brings many other diseases. Diabetes impacts the body in many ways, such as decreased activity tolerance, decreased ability to perform daily activities, musculoskeletal complications, limited mobility of your hands and feet, affecting gait & balance etc. In all these conditions, exercising with the help of Specialized Physiotherapists plays an effective role in regaining normal levels of health and wellbeing.
Monitored exercise has a proven role in preventing and managing this deadly disease. The immediate response to exercise is a decrease in blood glucose levels. Long term benefits are due to improved insulin sensitivity. Exercise not only helps manage it, but also greatly reduces the complications occurring due to Diabetes like Diabetic Neuropathy, Diabetic Retinopathy, Heart Diseases, Stroke & Diabetic Ulcers.
You ask any Diabetic about exercising, and his reply will be that Walking is the best exercise for Diabetes. But is this really the fact?
NO. Walking alone is not sufficient for controlling Diabetes.
At Mission Health, when a patient comes to us for Diabetes Rehabilitation, we study his entire lifestyle, metabolism, timing & effects of medications, dietary habits, and associated conditions, & based on that a lifestyle modification and individualized exercise program are designed. It includes specific exercises to be done at a particular time according to one’s own metabolism, which improve the Insulin Sensitivity & help control Diabetes. The exercise Program includes both Cardiopulmonary Conditioning & Strength Training along with Pranayama, Nutritional Counselling, Education about disease and its possible complications, Protective Orthotics & Lifestyle Modification.
We also provide small-group, supervised exercise classes for people with certain chronic diseases. Group exercise provides a fun, social experience along with appropriate exercises, all under close supervision by our Physiotherapist, which leads to metabolic improvements even in the absence of weight loss, helping people with Diabetes improve their quality of life, and contributes to overall control of Blood Glucose. The use of alternative therapies, such as Yoga and Pranayama can contribute to the achievement of optimal Cardiorespiratory health.
In many cases, we have been successful in reducing the medicine dose and even shifting patients from insulin to oral medications.
It demands a strong commitment from the patient’s side to exercise specifically to control their Diabetes & prevent secondary complications.