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If you suffer from neuropathy, then being told that you need to include exercise in your daily routine is enough to make you chuckle out loud. How are you supposed to exercise when you have lost most of the feeling in your legs and feet? Weakness and balance issues only make the idea seem even more scary.
Yet, exercise is a vital part of improving your symptoms as it gets your blood flowing to the nerves. It can have even greater benefits for those with diabetes.
It is important to note that while exercise can most definitely help neuropathy, there is a certain way you should go about it.
Naturally, there is a risk when it comes to exercising with neuropathy. When you have trouble with feeling, strength, or balance – especially in your legs and feet — accidents can come easily.
Things like broken bones, cuts, sprains, and other injuries may not be felt when they happen, opening the door for infections and greater damage.
Always take precautions when starting an exercise program.
Exercise is not a one-size-fits-all type of activity. There are many different things you can do to get the movement you need, based on your ability, without overdoing it or putting yourself at greater risk. Below are a few examples.
Cardiovascular exercises (low impact, of course) can come in many different forms and help you to improve your fitness levels. It will get your blood flowing and allow those nutrients to get down into your legs to improve your neuropathy.
You will want to avoid those types of cardio fitness that put a lot of pressure on your joints or require fast movement. Instead, you should consider activities that are more gentle and less risky. In other words, you will want to forget about jumping rope or playing basketball and instead go for a walk, a bike ride, or even engage in water aerobics.
When we refer to strength training, we aren’t referring to body-building that will keep you in the gym for hours on end. Simple strength training exercises can be all that is needed to strengthen your calf muscles, your feet, and your ankles. You will grow stronger and be able to reduce your risk of injury.
What’s more, the stronger the muscles, the more efficiently they can use the blood’s oxygen.
Stretching deserves more credit than it usually gets - especially when it comes to flexibility and range of motion. This will help you to warm up your joints and muscles, reducing your risks of injury when you engage in other activities.
While allforms of stretching are beneficial, for someone with neuropathy that impacts the lower limbs, focusing on the calves and the ankles is so impor
tant.
Without doing something about your neuropathy pain, it is likely only going to get worse.
Although exercise is a great way to seek relief from your symptoms, it is only a small part of the treatment available.
Whether in addition to or in place of traditional pharmaceutical treatments, working with a board-certified functional neurologist in Stuart, FL can give you access to help you wouldn’t otherwise receive from a medical doctor. After all, you need strategies that will get to the root cause of your neuropathy — improving the blood flow so that nerve damage can heal.
Find relief from neuropathy today.
