How Therapeutic Massage Could Help You Manage Your Diabetes
If you have diabetes, you know you have to pay close attention to your diet and take your medication on schedule. Diabetes can take an emotional and physical toll on your body due to the stress of managing the disease. Relaxation and stress relief are important when you have this medical condition so you can maintain a healing state that helps your blood sugar normalize. One thing that can help you relax and manage your diabetes is therapeutic massage.
Induces Relaxation
A massage is very relaxing whether you undergo a full-body massage or just get a back massage in a chair. The smooth strokes and muscle kneading soothes your nervous system and releases tension in your muscles. Stress is linked to high blood sugar. That's because when you are under acute or chronic stress, your body releases chemicals that put you in a hypervigilant state that increases your heart rate, elevates your blood pressure, and causes a rise in blood sugar. The effects of a relaxing massage can last for several hours, so frequent massages can play a big role in reducing your stress and helping keep your blood sugar in the normal range.
Improves Circulation
One of the benefits of therapeutic massage is that it increases circulation of blood and lymph. This helps you when circulation is impaired in your hands or feet. If your hands and feet are always cold or tingly, it could be due to complications from diabetes. You may especially enjoy having your hands and feet massaged with warm oil to stimulate blood flow and bring warmth back into your tissues. Just be sure to let your therapist know you have diabetes so proper precautions can be taken with your treatment. Improving lymph flow is also important because lymph drains waste from the body.
Enhances Flexibility
Diabetes affects many organs and tissues in your body. It attacks your nerves, which can cause pain around your joints that leads to limited mobility. Diabetes affects your muscles and the fascia that lines your body. This can result in stiff hands or painful feet. Therapeutic massage helps keep your body flexible by working out tension knots and scar tissue in your muscles, tendons, and fascia. Improved circulation may also help reduce pain that limits your mobility. Undergoing regular massage treatments may help you maintain flexibility and range of motion in your hands and body so you can go about your daily life with less pain and stiffness.
While massage alone won't fully manage your diabetes, it can be one more useful tool to help you keep your blood sugar under control and manage the complications of your disease. Be sure to talk to your doctor about the benefits of undergoing therapeutic massage. You may even want to test your blood sugar right before, during, and after a treatment to monitor the safety of your treatments. If nothing else, a massage should leave you feeling totally relaxed, and that alone is worth it. Talk to a massage therapist like those at Mana Massage to see what treatments are best for you.
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