Dealing With Diabetes Through Massage Therapy
Are you diabetic? Because it turns out, as of 2020, statistics show that 34.2 million adults in the US have diabetes, while 88 million Americans are pre-diabetic. So, chances are, you are reading this article because you are diabetic, or you may know someone who has been diagnosed as one.
But what exactly is diabetes in the first place?
Detecting Diabetes
Let’s start with how the body functions normally. When you eat, the glucose (sugar) component of the food you are digesting goes into your bloodstream. This, in turn, activates the pancreas to secrete insulin (a kind of hormone) that tells your body’s cells to make use of the glucose in your blood as an energy source. So what happens if you have diabetes? It can either be one of two cases (Type 1 or Type 2), but the tell-tale sign is the same: hyperglycemia or high blood sugar levels.
First, if you have Type 1 diabetes, your body’s immune system destroys insulin-producing cells. So, as you eat food with carbohydrate content, your blood glucose levels will continue to rise but your cells will not be able to make use of the glucose because there is no insulin to facilitate the process.
As for the second case? The second one is called Type 2 diabetes. This is where your body cannot make enough insulin, or your cells do not respond to the insulin that your body produces. This ultimately results in high blood sugar levels, as well.
See also: 5 Ways Massage Chair Therapy Can Help in Weight Loss
Dealing with Diabetes
So, is there a cure for this health condition? Sadly, diabetes is a long-term disease with still no known cures. Most patients deal with diabetes by monitoring their blood sugar levels and by taking oral medication to keep it within a normal range. Others inject (or pump) synthetic insulin into their bodies to keep themselves from being hyperglycemic. But it does not end there. If you are living with diabetes, worrying about your blood sugar levels is just the tip of the iceberg. As the disease progresses, you also have to cope with its many complications.
Fortunately, this is where massage therapy comes in
Massage therapy is regarded as a form of alternative medicine as it helps people manage their existing health conditions. And this applies to diabetics, too? It does. Here’s an example: Remember how some diabetics inject insulin serum to manage their glucose levels?
A systematic review of several studies notes that massage on the injection sites may help in lowering blood glucose levels. For the diabetics that participated in the research study, massaging the skin/area where patients received the insulin serum injection helped improve insulin serum action. And as the insulin action improves, the better it facilitates blood glucose absorption.
Similar results were found on a group of type 2 diabetic women. The researchers bring into light the stress-relieving effect of massage therapy as a reason for the lowered glucose levels. That is, as your stress hormone levels decrease post-massage, both your mind and body get relaxed. And when you are fully relaxed, your hormone regulation and function (including that which influences your body’s use of glucose) may get back to normal, too.
See also: 3 Benefits of Massage Therapy for People With Autoimmune Diseases
Familiar with neuropathy or nerve damage?
When you have too much sugar in your bloodstream, it can cause damage to the blood vessels that are connected to your nerves. Some diabetics feel this as tingling, numbness, or painful sensations in the areas where blood flow is affected.
And can you manage this with massage therapy, too? A study suggests that this is possible. Massage therapy may help you manage the pain that you feel in certain body areas, like your legs, because of your diabetes. It does so by altering the pain signals sent by your nerves and telling your brain to “close the pain gate” . Do you know what else it does? It improves your blood flow. The pressure applied to the massaged area facilitates the movement of the congested blood (in the affected area), allowing it to circulate throughout your body.
Here’s another interesting correlation:
Did you know that depression is quite common among diabetics, too?
A study notes that these two are associated. That is, depressed individuals are more likely to become diabetic. And diabetics (mostly because of medication side-effects) are most likely to become depressed. So, how exactly can massage help? As massage therapy lowers your stress hormone levels, the levels of your neurotransmitters (serotonin and dopamine) are also increased. In other words, mood-lifting serotonin and dopamine increase after each massage session and help you cope with depression.
In A Nutshell
Diabetes may be a chronic and incurable disease, but that does not mean there is no hope for better days. With proper medical advice and supervision, you may turn to massage therapy as an alternative or a complementary method that can help you in dealing with the symptoms and complications of diabetes.
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