Diabetes Circulation Article

8/14/2019 Diabetes Circulation Article

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Diabetes and manual therapies as an aid to lower leg circulation

Copyright 2009 Michael Gillan 1 ultra marathon recovery specialisthttp://aching-legs.org/charity/diabetes_type2_leg_movement.html

Diabetes type 2 and manual therapies-an aid to lower leg circulation

I work with ultra marathon runners and walkers (people who walk or run any distance over marathon)on recovery during and after their event-I work at events that range from 6 hours to around the world

(www.worldrun.org)

There are many sites on the internet about massage and ms-simply type in ‘ms and massage’ into any

search engine-you may have been there and been just as confused as me about what to do and where itactually may relate to you-you may also be wondering where I come into the scheme of things and why

my knowledge is different to everyone else’s information

My knowledge offers a simple self help-system developed on and for ultra marathon runners and

walkers that works with the muscles-this makes it easy to do and it does not need equipment or toomuch complicated hands on training to do

Unless you know what you are doing most modern massage techniques are not only too technical-they

can be too rough on tissues, arteries, and veins in the legs from uncontrolled finger force and untrainedhands on and into the muscles causing damage

Why is working with the muscles more important for the diabetic than working on them?

The diabetic's circulation is already challenged and the muscle tissues already struggling for fresh

blood-working on the muscles entails using the hands and fingers to encourage circulation and this

means using uncontrolled finger force into the tissues

This compromises the integrity of the venous and arterial systems by breaking the fine capillaries and

venules that run throughout the circulatory network of blood carrying vessels

Those with diabetes type 2 are usually well aware of the problems they face-but dealing with them inan appropriate way is a different matter-if they decide to use manual therapies to help increase lower

leg circulation it is difficult to make a choice in what is appropriate and what isn't

Many people with type 2 diabetes have problems exercising and moving-as lower leg circulationdecreases the lack of blood supply to the muscle tissues can cause ulceration of the feet and legs-this

makes the ability to start the change of lifestyle more difficult because they do not heal well

Here is an image of a leg of a swollen lower leg and ankle they do not have diabetes-but it shows howlack of movement and exercise can affect lower leg circulation and make it more difficult to even wear

a pair of shoes without rubbing and causing feet problems

http://www.worldrun.org/

http://aching-legs.org/charity/diabetes_type2_leg_movement.html





Any attempt at doing exercise for a lifestyle change is difficult because it is impossible to walk very far

in slippers and so the lower leg circulation deteriorates

Muscle health is based on having a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients to them

To keep this supply going a balance between what goes into the muscles and what comes out of themmust be maintained-if for some reason fresh oxygen rich blood can't enter the muscle tissues levels the

muscles fatigue

To keep it reaching them the body has a circulatory system; part of it takes fresh blood to the muscles

pumped there by the heart through the arteries-another part of the system takes the used blood away

back to the body where it is re-nourished with oxygen and nutrients and recirculated again.

The Calf Muscle Pump

The muscle pump is made up of all the leg muscles and together they form a pump which forces usedblood against gravity up the legs back to the body for recycling by alternately putting pressure on the

venous system and releasing it

The veins which take blood back to the body have one-way valves in them-as the muscles squeeze,they open the valves, letting blood pass through them; when the tension is released, they close stopping

the blood flowing back down towards the feet

Lack of movement reduces the veins ability to open and close by keeping constant tension on them, thisis called calf muscle pump inefficiency

Problems caused by calf muscle pump inefficiency (even without the problems of diabetes) include

• Poor circulation

• Lymph system inactivity

• Venous return reduced

There are many other problems caused by venous inefficiency and it may be worthwhile looking at

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/full/26/12/3333

Peripheral Arterial Disease in People With Diabetes

http://www.o-wm.com/article/8057

Controversies Regarding Vascular Disease in the Patient with Diabetes: A Review of the Literature

VOLUME: 53 Issue Number: 11 author: Robert J. Snyder, DPM, CWS

http://www.videomd.com/PeripheralArterialDisease-fv-465.aspx

The diabetic leg needs something simple that is easy to do without putting thecirculatory system at risk of further damage






Light Manual Muscle Relaxation the Massage-Lite leg assistance

What makes Light Manual Muscle Relaxation so different from other recovery

systems?

It is an alternative stripped down basic tool which uses the muscles to work with themselves rather thanrelying on the skills of someone who works on them

This model has many benefits for someone who has to take the place of a skilled therapist in a remotearea and who cannot afford the real thing

To try and help with diabetic swollen legs you can use aimless guesswork and prod and poke and just

move the legs in an aimless fashion and hope what you are doing is working

Or you can use planned and structured movement that is based on medical physiology and been tested

on many ultra marathon runs and walks around the world

The advantages of having a massage-lite system

• No equipment needed

• No disrobing

• No oil

• No washing up

• No long training

• No clean area needed

• Can be done by anyone

Works with the muscles not on them

Light Manual Muscle Relaxation-(Massage-Lite) works through

• Simplicity

• Predictability

• Consistency

• Non invasive

• User friendly






How user friendly?

I worked for 24 hours off this chair (next to the bottles) without any equipment in unhygienic conditions

There are other ways to help the circulation in the lower legs

This is the last thing the diabetic needs because they already have a problem with movement-and it is

needed to make the calf muscles work to pump the used blood from the legs

This is very passive and for not much use because they are not implementing those needed lifestylechanges and getting that exercise part of treatment working- they need a pro-active role in helping the

calf muscles to work the pump at moving the fluid up the legs

How to do this just needs the knowledge of how to work with the muscles not on them!

In countries such as my own (Australia) with a good health system, improvement using drugs, exercise,or surgery with inputs from physiotherapists, dieticians, chiropodists for foot care is available as are

gymnasiums to help with weight and exercise

In many countries-there is no help for those who do not have the financial ability to pay for treatment

and only basic care may be given-and it may be days walking or cycling to reach a hospital-self treatment for these people is a necessity rather than a choice issue

In countries that have more poverty, having massage schools for training, and paying clients to pay formassage is not an option they can barely afford the clothes on their back without having to pay tuition

fees, massage table, oil, towels etc

There is also the hygiene aspect-washing facilities, soap powder, the absence of clean running water,

dust sticking to oil which has to be washed off

They have to become their own physical and muscle therapist-and they have tolearn how to do this with a minimum of education and training






Giving a massage-lite leg workshop

Working with the muscles

You are at this website because you obviously have an interest in diabetes so if you want moreinformation on Light Manual Muscle Relaxation and you can afford it-please buy a manual

The money raised from this goes towards supporting my project on establishing classes around theworld in countries that do not have access to many health services

Michael Gillan Long distance recovery specialist






I should point out I am not a doctor so I am not treating anything and what I say should not

be taken as a medical treatment or implied that it is-medical treatment should be sought andadvice taken about whether it is suitable for your complaintDiabetes Organisations

ADA(American Diabetes Association) (US) Very comprehensive, userfriendly site, offering range of info - regularly updated news,

backgroundinfo, recipes, shopping, and well laid out links listing.

CanadianDiabetes Association (CDA) (Can)General info, news, andinfo about the CDA. Incorporates on-line virtual tour of BantingMuseum.

CDC- a Division of Diabetes Translation (US)(part of the US NationalCentre for Chronic Disease Control and Prevention)

Extensive general info ondiabetes, keeping control, and statistics about diabetes in the US.

DiabetesInsipidus (US) A general health site, withinfo on diabetes insipidus. The UK charity Pit Pat has no web sitebutcan be contacted through this site.

InternationalDiabetes Federation (Global)General information andnews about the IDF, its activities, campaigns and goals, plus somebasicinfo about diabetes.

JuvenileDiabetes Foundation (US)

Site of US research fundingcharity, includes general info, research news and links to othersites.

NationalInstitute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (US)Site of the NIDDK (one ofthe US Public Health Service’s National Institutes of Health).Includescomprehensive and accessible general info specifically about diabetes,plus databases

for health professionals, news, and listings of the NIDDK’sscientific and funding resources forresearchers.

WHO/HQDiabetes Programme (Global)General info on WHO DiabetesProgramme, detailed stats on global incidence of diabetes,press releases,norms and standards, and links to other sites.

For more information on Light Manual Muscle Relaxation go to


[email protected]








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Diabetes Circulation Article