Many people believe diabetes can only be treated with the use of medications. While this is true, it can also be handled with the help of chiropractic care. Below you’ll discover more about how diabetes affects the body and a handful of ways chiropractic care can help treat it, along with chiropractic and type 2 diabetes symptoms.
What Is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood sugar is unable to regulate itself and tends to rise very quickly. This can make it difficult for your body to produce enough insulin to convert this sugar into energy.
Types of Diabetes
There are four main types of diabetes.
Type 1
Type 1 diabetes forms in people (usually during adolescence) whose body is unable to produce any insulin. Someone with Type 1 diabetes (t1d) tends to have a very weak immune system and needs to take medications daily to stay alive. This type of diabetes can result in side effects like nausea, heavy urination, and weight loss. #t1d
Type 2
Type 2 diabetes or (t2d) can develop at any age and occurs because your body is unable to produce an adequate amount of insulin. While it’s not known what causes this to form, some medical professionals believe it’s linked to one’s weight and if one lives a sedentary lifestyle. However, chiropractic care can help with type 2 diabetes. Common symptoms of Type 2 diabetes include increased thirst, excessive hunger, fatigue, and blurred vision. #t2d
Prediabetes
Prediabetes develops because your blood sugar is high, but isn’t high enough to qualify as Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. This type doesn’t usually have visible symptoms, but could cause slight darkening of the skin or weight gain.
Gestational
Gestational diabetes occurs in some pregnant women. While this type of diabetes usually disappears once the baby is born, women who had this tend to be more at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes later in their life. Most of the time there aren’t symptoms with gestational diabetes. To treat it, you need to monitor your blood sugar daily to tell when it’s time to take diabetic medications.
How Chiropractic Care Can Treat It
It Levels Out Blood Sugar
Keeping your blood sugar balanced is crucial if you’re diabetic. With the help of spinal manipulations, a chiropractor can readjust your brain so that it communicates better with your central nervous system. By doing so, it will help your bodily functions to work together to prevent dangerous spikes in your blood sugar. As a result, these types of chiropractic care helps treats diabetes.
It Can Boost Your Immune System
If you have diabetes, your body is more susceptible to catching infections because your immune system isn’t strong. Chiropractic care can boost your immune system with the use of various techniques to help regulate your nervous system, something which connects to the immune system. By adjusting the nervous system, it will relax subluxations in the vertebrae that could cause it to malfunction.
It Can Treat Pain
Diabetes can cause intense pain throughout your body. This includes leg cramps, back pain, and even nerve damage. In fact, people with diabetes tend to have a higher risk of suffering from lower back pain and neck pain compared to those who don’t have it.
Chiropractors will use a variety of non-invasive adjustments to help correct inflammation and joint alignment problems that can lead to pain. Besides using their hands to make adjustments, they might also implement tools. Some they might incorporate into your session include cold lasers, activators, and percussive massage devices. All of these are designed to get deep into your body and awaken your nerves so the adjustments provide the best relief possible.
Can Heal Nerve Damage
Most diabetics suffer from diabetic neuropathy. This nerve condition damages the nerves in your legs and feet making it hard to walk on them. Some might also be unable to feel these body parts because the nerves numb them.
Chiropractic care can help treat this condition by doing manipulations that encourage the nerves to function correctly again. These will increase blood flow to the area and can decrease pain caused by it. After a few sessions, you’ll find that the pain isn’t as intense or doesn’t occur as frequently.
It Can Relieve Digestive Troubles
Diabetes can cause gastroparesis, a digestive problem that causes food to stay in one’s stomach for longer than normal. Because of this, it can cause heartburn and nausea.
A chiropractor can do special adjustments that relieve inflammation around the digestive tract. This is because the adjustments will tweak the sympathetic nervous system so that it calms down and lets food pass easily through your stomach. #chiropracticcare
A Chiropractor Can Suggest Diet Plans
Another benefit of chiropractic care is that a chiropractor can treat diabetes by suggesting diet plans you can follow after the adjustments. A chiropractor will usually recommend you add healthy carbohydrates, good fats, and fish to your diet. Some they might advise to consume include:
- Salmon
- Kale
- Spinach
- Eggs
- Cinnamon
- Turmeric
- Greek yogurt
- Pistachios
- Strawberries
- Garlic
They will also recommend that you make sure to drink plenty of water. Water will keep you hydrated and even control your blood glucose levels. Besides this, it will help flush out toxins that could cause infections and encourage better digestion.
In addition to telling you what you need to add to your diet, they’ll also stress the importance of avoiding a few things. These include:
- White bread
- Trans fats
- Artificial sweeteners
- Salt
- Alcohol
A Chiropractor Will Recommend Exercises
Most chiropractors will also recommend specific exercises to use. These will help the adjustments done by a chiropractor to work well and ensure they help manage your diabetes. Some they might suggest you try are:
- Walking
- Swimming
- Aerobics
- Resistance band stretches
- Cycling
While these won’t treat diabetes on their own, they will keep your body moving, something which is important if you want to regulate your blood sugar. Exercising will also improve your heart health by lowering your blood pressure. This can significantly reduce your risk of developing heart disease. Chiropractic care helps people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes can be a challenging disease to live with. Thankfully, there are a handful of ways you can help treat it, including with the use of chiropractic care. A chiropractor can guide you through how to naturally cope with it with the use of chiropractic adjustments and specialized diet plans.
Referenceshttps://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/in-depth/diabetes-diet/art-20044295
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190221142302.htm#:~:text=Summary%3A,without%20diabetes%2C%20researchers%20have%20found.
Dr. Brent Wells founded Better Health Chiropractic & Physical Rehab in 1998. He is currently leading 10,000 Alaskans to more active and pain-free lifestyles without drugs or invasive surgeries. He brings a progressive and highly innovative approach to chiropractic care. Dr. Wells continues to further his education with ongoing studies in spine conditions, neurology, physical rehabilitation, biomechanics, occupational ergonomics, whiplash, and brain injury traumatology. He is also a member of the American Chiropractic Association and the American Academy of Spine Physicians. Currently, he works at Assignment Bro as a writer.
