Diabetes & Peripheral Neuropathy

Diabetes is a serious disease that needs to be followed by your medical doctor. There are many complications that affect your body, but we will address the ones that are pertinent to our treatments. Peripheral neuropathy or numbness, tingling and/or pain in the lower extremities can complicate treatments so care must be taken. Also, there are the added effects of poor circulation leading to diabetic leg sores, swelling and difficulty healing of any open skin area. (Note: you can also have peripheral neuropathy of the upper extremities as well, but it is not as common as the lower extremities).

I do not recommend direct skin massaging of the legs below the knees for anyone with the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, open sores or very thin fragile skin. However, an excellent indirect treatment is using the MedMassager foot massaging unit. This treatment will stimulate blood flow and help reduce swelling (edema).

1. Prior to using the MedMassager foot unit I prefer to use soothing therapeutic oils such as lavender or vanilla.
2. Begin using the MedMassager foot massager on a low setting for the first minute or two. Then slowly bring up the speed to the most comfortable setting or where it feels the best to you.
3. Many people will find that their feet feel much better following this treatment.
4. For those fortunate people who own both the MedMassager Body massager and the MedMassager foot massager, one of the best treatments people find is to use the Body Massager over the top of the feet while the sole of the foot is on the Foot Massager.
5. Walking with the proper shoes should be a regular part of an exercise program. One of the best places to walk is at an enclosed mall or a large department/retail store as it is climate controlled and smooth which allows you to have a safe environment.