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T2 Diabetic and disabled

B

buddyarrows

Newbie
Messages
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Hi, I'm a newbie and have been diagnosed type 2 diabetic. I have been advised to keep my condition under control with diet and exercise. The problem for me is that I am disabled some what with a long-term back injury including syatica that limits me with exercise. I cannot walk over 100mtrs with out discomfort and needing to rest and any exercise involving twisting my lower back causes problems. I tried weight lifting but that caused a similar syatic type injury in my neck.
Can or is anyone in a similar position advise on exercise that is lower back friendly.

Many Thanks
David
 
Hello David and welcome to the forum :-)

You made my blood run cold, arrrrggghhhh, trying weight lifting with a bad back, it hurts me just thinking about it.

I think the best thing is for you to ask the doctor to refer you to a physio, these good people will give you a set of exercises that are safe for you to do, they teach you to do them correctly.

Also you dont have to do strenuous exercises at all, if you just fiddle with your toes and fingers, while you are sitting or lying in bed, its some kind of gentle exercise, I was going to say that you could move your arms around, do loads of exercises with them, flexing, straightening, sideways, in front of you, above your head but no, DONT do that please if you have a neck injury now as well. Then there are so many chair based exercises with your back supported, maybe you can do any of these, I am sure that you and a good physiotherapist can work out an exercise regimen that is safe for you to do.
PLEASE DONT try any more exercises in the meantime, till you got seen by a professional, you might hurt yourself even more.

All the best to you

Karen
 
Hi all, Thanks for all your replies, Just to explain a bit more the weight lifting was sitting down with a straight back and with dumbbells and a lightly weighted bar, I think I gave the wrong impression it was nothing to strenuous, as I had done weights some years ago it seemed to be the right exercise to do. Unfortunately swimming is out for two reasons one is I can't swim and I have a fear of deep water, but I appreciate the advice. I have done some physio in the past but it always made my back pain worse so I stopped with it. The light body exercises are a good idea and I think I will give my doc a visit and find out more about physio etc.

Thank you for all your advice.
David
 
Hi again, you could try to look online for chair based exercises, I would say it is very, very important that your back is supported at all times whilst doing some exercises.
And as I said before even fidgeting and twiddlig your fingers and toes while you are sitting or lying down is some form of gentle exercise, flex your feet and relax, and so on, basically any body movement is good.

Here are some links for you, but really I urge you to ask to be referred to a physio to teach you exercises so that you do them properly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ9h-yEjY9Y

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_t ... for+sciati

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU7abgOefu8

All the best

Karen
 
Hi David,
Like you i have type 2 and lots of other health issues these relate in many ways!
Eye sight shot, Means i can't go out by myself! yesterday stood talking to a cardboard cutout on a shop door! I even said sorry for standing on it's foot! My poor fiancee he could not help for laughing after he had been for a wee! I walked away when he grabbed my hand, he told me what i was doing, Oh i was embrassed or what! :oops:
Anyway i have found that if i do gentle exercise, I have bought myself a yoga for beginers book! I have found gentle exercises that my fiancee has read out saying about sitting in a chair etc! I do a nice little gentle walk on the beach once a week! It helps keep the hard skin on my heels down as well!
And a little gentle swim once a week! I have found this has helped me lose a fair amount of weight!
You will after a while find what your body can take, ask to see a pysio as they can give you exercises for your back that will not cause strain for you!
Hope this helps you! Sorry if it is confusing, I confuse myself have the time!
sandy
 
Hi David, you look like the ideal candidate for water exercises. Do you have a sports centre near you which does them? I've been doing water exercise for a couple of years and it's wonderful. I also use resistance bands
 
Tai chi might be something that would help you - I had a sciatic nerve problem and was shown a very helpful Tai Chi exercise. But make sure you get checked over by a physio first and make the teacher aware of your back problem before the classes start.

If you have high levels of pain which are poorly controlled and you have not been able to get on top of managing the pain, your GP may refer you to a Pain Clinic. A Pain Clinic has all kinds of different professionals together to help people to manage their pain - my local Pain Clinic is able to refer to a yoga teacher who runs a class specially for people with disabilities, some of whom take friends/carers to help reposition limbs during the exercises.

If you do exercise at home do a proper warm up - gentle stretches etc. Anything that gets you moving safely is a good idea.
 
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