Diabetic Massage

Diabetic massage therapy manipulates the muscles and other soft tissues of the body, and can be very beneficial in the treatment of diabetes. Massage affects the musculoskeletal, circulator, lymphatic and nervous systems. It helps to relax the muscles, reduces stress, and creates a feeling of calmness. Massage also helps in the elimination of toxins in the body, and it helps improve blood circulation.

Types of massage range from gentle kneading of muscles and tissues to deeper techniques. Massage has been successful in treating diabetes for centuries.

Following are some of the benefits that are of particular interest for diabetics:

Relaxation - The importance of relaxation cannot be overemphasized. Living with diabetes is stressful, with constantly monitoring your fluctuating blood sugar levels, balancing intake of insulin or oral medications, nutrition and exercise. By calming the nervous system, massage can bring you rest and a sense of well-being. Decreasing the production of stress hormones results in lower blood sugar levels.

Circulation – Massage increases the circulation of your blood which helps the transport of oxygen to the body’s tissues. Circulation is often impaired in diabetics, and the improved circulation allows for more efficient use of insulin by the body.

Tissue Flexibility - Massage helps to facilitate greater mobility in the body. This is important to you because elevated blood sugars cause a thickening of connective tissue, which affects mobility of the myofascial system. Symptoms are stiffness in muscles, tendons and ligaments and decreased range of motion in joints. Massage therapy can significantly counter these symptoms.



While massage therapy presents many benefits to people with diabetes, there are some precautions that should be taken:

Injection Sites - Most Type 1 diabetics must self-inject insulin. The increased circulation caused by massage near the injection area can increase insulin absorption rates. This could have serious consequences for a diabetic, so you must be sure to tell the massage therapist where you inject and make sure they don’t work on that area.

Neuropathy - Neuropathy is a common complication of diabetes, causing dulled or painful sensations on the extremities. As a result, you may not be able to tell the therapist if they are doing too much. The chance of bruising or burning is increased with diabetics. Extra care must be taken.

Blood Sugar Changes - Because massage can lower blood sugar, you should monitor for any sudden changes. Due to the relaxing nature of massage, a drop in blood sugar can be hard to detect. Some diabetics can tell when their sugar levels are dropping, while others cannot. Following are some of the symptoms of hypoglycemia:

• Excessive sweating or clamminess
• Faintness or headache
• Inability to awaken
• Slowed or incoherent speech
• Slowed or delayed movements
• Sudden irritability
• Change in personality
• Rapid heartbeat

Keep some type of sugar on hand in case you experience any of these symptoms.