Are Foot Massagers Good for Diabetics?
May 24, 2021
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Imagine carrying weight equivalent to your bodyweight all day long, you would get really tired right? Well your feet do this really hard work every day. Sometimes while traveling, working, or shopping you may have experienced a day where you were on your feet most of the time which later caused severe pain in your feet. Leg and foot pain is quite common in people that suffer from diabetes as their body’s blood sugar levels are high which causes leg cramps and nerve damage in the legs. Diabetic people experience a lot of foot pain which at times become very painful and sometimes even makes your feet numb and sensitive, an estimated 1 in 3 diabetics over the age of 50 suffer from a peripheral arterial disease which narrows the blood vessels and decrease the blood flow, this decreased blood flow cause a lot of pain in the feet. It is very important for a diabetic patient to take proper care of their legs and feet and keep them healthy as they play a very important role in your life. Learn more about foot massagers.While talking about taking care of your feet, a feet massage is something people look up to as foot massages improve circulation, stimulates muscles, reduces tension and eases pain, many people like to use a massager which vibrates and gives the muscles and joints a relief and are powered by battery eliminating the need to massage your feet yourself or by someone else. Massagers sure are relaxing after a long day and make you feel good and relieves pain, but diabetic people are usually unsure about using them as nerve and muscle damage can happen very easily. So are foot massagers safe to use for people that are diabetic? Well keep reading to find out.
Massage and diabetes
Nowadays massage is being used as a therapy for people with diabetes all around the world, like other treatments to this disease diabetic massage also have a good side and a bad side. Studies show that massaging helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels in diabetic people, a group research showed that when parents give their diabetic children a massage before their bedtime, the children’s blood sugar level decrease from 158 to 117 in around a month, which is a short period of time for these results. Massaging is healthy for people with diabetes as it helps to reduce the mental and physical ailments that most patients suffer from.
Benefits of foot massage for diabetics
Massage has been proved to be really effective in dropping blood glucose level, high blood sugar causes hyperglycemia which causes eye damage, cardio diseases, skin and nerve diseases and many other health problems. Apart from that massage also increases the flexibility and helps loosen the muscles that are tightened, massage relaxes the muscles, ligaments and tendons making the patient feel relaxed and also improve the quality of life.
People that are diabetic have a restricted blood flow in their feet which a foot massager helps increase as it increases the blood flow level. A good blood flow in the feet are very important as it helps you walk without feeling any numbness or pain in your leg.
With severe diabetes, nerve function in your feet starts to decrease which is really bad, but by regularly using a massager on your feet you can restore some of the nerve function, massaging your feet also reduces the chances of getting foot ulcer, which are really harmful and can cause burning and pain moreover they also take a long time to heal.
Despite having all these benefits, you should read through the drawbacks of using a foot massager before using it.
Drawbacks of using a foot massager
Despite of the fact that massagers have a lot of benefits and actually help people with diabetes, massagers should be used with precaution. Foot massagers are safe to use for diabetics unless they have neuropathy which in simple terms is the tangling, damage, or dysfunction of veins, in this using foot massagers can cause some problems as they apply pressure and any pressure applied to the wrong area can be dangerous for someone that has neuropathy. Apart from that if you find that the cuts that the little cuts or bruises that you get on your hand take much longer to heal compared to other diabetics because of high blood glucose then using a foot massager can be a little dangerous. If you have any of these two conditions, then you should not use a massager without consulting a professional doctor so that it doesn’t cause any health problems for you.
Precautions to take before using a foot massager
Massagers are great for people suffering from diabetes but necessary precautions should be taken before using them, here is a list of precautions.
1. Avoid using the massager on swelling
People that suffer from diabetes can get feet swelling usually due to low blood circulation, heart problems, medication side effects and other such reasons, whatever the reason is using a massager on your swelling is never a good idea as it can increase it causing more problems.
2. Don’t use massager on any physical injury
Before you start using a massager on your feet, you should clearly examine it for any physical injury as using a massager on any area with a physical injury can cause the injury to increase and as a diabetic patient, you should avoid injuries at all costs.
3. Be careful with heating massagers
Before using a massager, you should check its temperature and make sure that it doesn’t get too hot and burn your skin. If you are someone that has neuropathy in your feet then you should avoid using heated massagers as it can get overheating and burn your skin without you sensing it.
4. Don’t apply pressure to one area only
While using a massager on your feet, make sure to apply even pressure to all areas and don’t apply force to any particular area because apply pressure on one area can cause damage or swelling in that area.
We hope that this article may have answered your questions and gave you a good amount of information, we wish you the best of health and happiness.
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