Results of an animal study published in the February issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia indicates that regular exercise helps to reduce the development of diabetes-related neuropathy. This seems to be due to the effect of exercise in increasing the body’s own protective substance known as ‘heat shock protein’, or Hsp72. Rats chemically induced to develop diabetes were put through a treadmill exercise programme to measure the extent to which they developed nerve pain. After two weeks, the rats in the control group showed observable signs of pain, including abnormal responses to temperature and pressure known to be symptomatic of neuropathy. In contrast to this, the rats who underwent daily exercise displayed a delayed progress of the same pain behaviours. The study’s author, Dr. Chen, attributes this difference to a smaller increase in blood glucose levels after the initial induction of the disease. The study, therefore, confirms what health practitioners already thought – namely, that exercise has an extremely positive effect on blood glucose levels.
The study is another valuable contribution to an ever-increasing volume of literature supporting the most beneficial lifestyle changes for diabetics. Diabetes is a disease that can quickly get out of control when not moderated by healthy habits. The wellbeing of sufferers is overwhelmingly dependant on the diet and exercise choices they make.