In diabetics, impaired blood circulation and neuropathy are caused by high blood sugar levels.
People with diabetes lose their ability to detect whether they have walked on a sharp object due to nerve injury. We refer to this as “peripheral neuropathy.”
Reduced circulation and diminished feeling are observed in the peripheral (usually the legs and feet) when high blood sugar levels associated with diabetes cause damage to the vessels over time. The diabetic may have several issues as a result of this.
The longer you have diabetes, the higher your risk of developing neural pathway issues associated with your disease. The good news is that if you have diabetes, you can improve your circulation. Let’s discuss how you can make it happen.
Extended periods of elevated blood sugar cause nerve-to-nerve transmission of impulses, which impairs feeling in the affected areas. Littler blood vessels weaken and become deprived of essential nutrients and oxygen. This explains why amputation rates are high among diabetics. Compared to those without diabetes, they will have slower wound healing and a higher chance of the infection developing into gangrene.
People with diabetes tend to neglect cuts and wounds until they become infected and more difficult to heal due to neuropathy and impaired circulation in the extremities. Vascular walls thicken and lumen diameter decreases.
Risk factors for the diabetic population include reduced blood flow from damaged arteries, no blood flow, and impaired sensation.
Diabetic neuropathy can cause you to feel…
- A prickly or pins-and-needles sensation in your feet and legs
- Extremely high or low temperature in feet
- Sensitivity or pain
- numbness
- not experiencing any pain despite having cuts and sores
- Reduced pain and discomfort are experienced by injured foot (loss of protecting sense)
Why is improving foot circulation important?
What occurs if there is poor circulation?
What can be done if you already have peripheral neuropathy and circulation problems in your feet? Although you are aware that you have a higher risk of developing foot issues, there are things you may do to lessen that risk.
Appropriate diabetes foot care requires routine foot exams by a medical professional. Your health care physician or a podiatrist, also known as the “foot doctor,” can do the examination.
A routine foot examination is not the same as a complete one. During the thorough examination, the doctor will evaluate your sensation in several foot locations using a 10 mm fishing line-style filament. When they ask you to close your eyes, tell them where the monofilament touched you. You’ll give an indication by using your toes or other appropriate body parts.
The healthcare professional will record any calloused areas, wounds, non-healing ulcers, or history of non-healing ulcers. The inspector may ask you questions regarding your general foot care routines and may even show you how to do certain foot care techniques.
All advice about foot care should be followed. A yearly visit to a podiatrist is recommended for individuals with diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, and impaired circulation. You might need to go more frequently and have additional treatments or have your nails cut if you have thicker toenails.
In any case, when you have diabetes, you should prioritize taking care of your feet.
Let’s talk about some medical and natural strategies for enhancing foot circulation and avoiding ulcers that can become infected and require surgery.
Maintain appropriate blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and A1C levels. Maintain all of your doctor’s appointments, wear diabetic socks, inspect your feet every day, and report any injuries or concerns you may have.
Blood thinners like warfarin (coumadin), for example, can be used to increase blood flow, but they don’t block the processes that cause disease, such as plaque accumulation in arteries and channel narrowing.
One medical procedure that can be used to treat arteries that have narrowed or become obstructed from allowing blood to flow freely is angioplasty. The problematic section of the artery is cleared using a balloon after a catheter is inserted.
In more severe situations, a stent may be inserted and left in the clogged artery to maintain blood flow.
If the blockage is not too severe, leg circulation can be improved with coronary bypass surgery. Improved blood flow to the extremities may be attempted via bypass grafts, which are produced from a vein taken from the patient’s body.
Activities to improve circulation
Exercise is a fantastic method to increase blood flow, which enhances foot circulation. You should engage in a heart-pumping cardiovascular activity, such as riding, walking, running, swimming, or participating in an exercise aerobics class.
Most people can exercise effectively by walking, which is a terrific activity. Due to the fact that you are moving your ankles, legs, feet, and toes, it is excellent for weak circulation.
8 pointers for maintaining your feet
- If worn properly, support socks can also aid enhance leg circulation; if not, they may even be harmful. You should receive instructions from your doctor on how to use them correctly.
- If you have diabetes, giving up smoking is the best thing you can do to enhance your circulation because smoking causes arteries to stiffen.
- Get your blood pressure under control, High blood pressure hardens and narrows arteries, which impairs circulation. If it isn’t under control, consult your doctor and take action to bring it into range.
- Maintain your cholesterol within the range that your physician has prescribed, ascertain your numerical values. Verify if your total cholesterol, triglycerides, good cholesterol, and bad cholesterol are within the normal range. If they are not, work with a registered dietitian to get your cholesterol levels back into normal (many people with diabetes have a dyslipidemia).
- Maintain your blood sugar within the designated range, if you’re unsure of what that is, ask your doctor or a Certified Diabetes Educator about ways to raise your readings.
- Exercise can lower blood pressure, increase good cholesterol, and improve circulation in general. Try doing 30 minutes a day, five days a week, of aerobic or cardiovascular activity, such as riding a bike or walking.
- Whenever possible, schedule regular check-ups with your physician. If you have diabetes, see a podiatrist once a year, or more frequently if necessary.
- The American Diabetes Association advises wearing support socks or socks that aid with circulation. Learn everything there is to know about Diabetic Socks.
- Examine your feet every day.
- Never go anyplace in bare feet to prevent scabs, infections, etc.
FAQs
Who can determine that my circulation is poor?
You can be diagnosed with peripheral neuropathies, which raise the risk of nonhealing ulcers and other circulation-related issues, or poor circulation itself by a physician or podiatrist.
Are there some meals that are particularly beneficial for circulation?
You can eat a variety of meals that will aid to increase your circulation.
- Vitamin C,rich foods, like oranges, naturally thin your blood and make it easier for blood to flow through blood vessels.
- When discussing circulation improvement, flavonoids are frequently brought up. Knowing that dark chocolate contains these flavonoids is a positive thing. Select types with at least 70% cocoa content.
- It is commonly known that cayenne pepper speeds up metabolism and tightens and stretches blood vessels.
- Vitamin E, which is present in sunflower seeds, can aid thickened, sticky blood pass through veins and prevent blood clotting.
- Ginger is well known for its ability to improve circulation, and garlic has a cleaning and anti-plaque effect on arteries.
- Goji” berries, which are packed with essential fiber, also boost circulation and the immune system’s reaction.
- Lycopene, an antioxidant found in watermelon, is also believed to enhance circulation.
- Salmon is yet another delicious meal to consume. It’s a heart- and circulatory-system-supporting fatty fish with higher concentrations of Omega 3 Fatty Acids.
- Another excellent food to include on your shopping list is avocado because it also contains a lot of Omega 3.
Should I often have massages that concentrate on my feet? Will it be beneficial?
Opening circulation can be aided by massaging the foot region. You could try massaging your own feet once a day to aid improve circulation. If you’d like, you may even get a massage from a professional.
Place your feet up on pillows or at a 45-degree angle above your heart level to massage your feet while you lie down on a couch or bed. Additionally, this will facilitate better blood flow to the region.
You should elevate them for ten minutes, then lay them flat on the bed for ten minutes, and finally hand them off the side of the bed for ten minutes as part of Beurger’s exercises. When you finish Beurger’s exercises, it’s a good idea to start massaging your ankles, feet, and toes. Start at the middle of your toes and work your way toward the tip.
Press your heels up toward the sky and your toes down while standing. Turn your toes toward the heavens and bring your heel down. This is an additional excellent foot circulation workout.
The extent to which these workouts enhance the circulation in your legs and feet may surprise you.
Do drugs that promote blood circulation have any negative effects?
For the pain and suffering associated with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and neuropathy, there are numerous therapy options. Usually, drug treatment is the first that is provided. Painkillers, blood thinners, and other medications that increase blood flow might be administered for PAD. As a last option, opioids are used in addition to painkillers, antidepressants, and some other medications for peripheral neuropathy. Many medications, meanwhile, have adverse effects and may not be tolerated.
In addition, topical ointments and therapies like monochromatic infrared energy therapy (MICRO) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), which employ electricity to block pain signals and improve blood flow and reduce pain, are available for neuropathy. Severe PAD may be treated with vascular operations like angioplasty or bypass, and some forms of neuropathy may benefit from surgery to remove nerve compression.
What impact does relaxation have on circulation and the feet?
If your feet are often sore and sensitive to the touch, spending more time relaxing will aid your circulation. When we say relax, we mean to do relaxation techniques like “Warm Feet” activities.
Its method involves the use of both biofeedback and relaxation techniques.
Is the relaxation technique with biofeedback superior to all other forms of treatment?
While I’m not sure if biofeedback and relaxation techniques are superior to other treatments, they do have some benefits. They are affordable and offer a treatment for neuropathies and poor circulation that can be used in conjunction with other therapies.
This “Warm Feet” method uses both the body and the mind. In addition to its circulatory-improving qualities, it helps diabetics cope better through relaxation and blood pressure lowering.
You might be wondering how circulation is aided by relaxing. This is the fundamental idea behind it.
When we are under stress, our sympathetic nervous system activates, causing our body to go into fight-or-flight mode. This causes an increase in our blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels. All of your muscles, including the heart and brain, receive faster blood flow.
This is reversed as we unwind, and everything moves more slowly. You can finally kick back and relax after work when you feel your muscles release tension and you start breathing deeply and gently. Your body slows down, and your heart rate and blood pressure also go down as your mind calms. This is brought on by parasympathetic nervous system activity.
The heart and brain receive more oxygen and nutrients when you’re relaxing. For this reason, unwinding helps improve circulation in our feet and legs. Warmer and pinker skin develops.
What is meant to be done with “Warm Feet”?
Try the Warm Feet technique to learn how to use your body’s natural response during relaxation. It is intended to increase blood flow to your hands, feet, legs, and arms.
You can release tension from your muscles and learn deep breathing methods with the help of an audio cassette. After that, you enter the visualization stage, during which you imagine your feet to be cozy and warm. The feet get warmer simply thinking about it, and the mind takes over.
In Warm Feet, the biofeedback makes up a third. This involves taking a skin temperature both before and after the procedure. The aim of this procedure, tested through research at the University of Wisconsin, is to raise skin temperature. Participants in the research who had non-healing chronic ulcers attempted the biofeedback relaxation techniques.
The fact that the participants’ wounds and extremity feelings healed more quickly made it noteworthy. Relaxation and biofeedback should not be disregarded as crucial treatments because, for some reason, mind over matter appears to be effective in these situations.
To begin, look for a medical professional with Warm Feet experience. These can be found in diabetic wound care facilities or other places that give wound care and healing education to people with diabetes. It usually takes 45 minutes to conduct Warm Feet, and learning how to relax takes time.
After using Warm Feet for a while, you ought to notice improved circulation, faster wound healing, and an elevation in skin temperature of four to ten degrees.
How may you benefit from the Warm Feet technique?
Warm feet can…
- Boost blood circulation in your arms and legs.
- Reduce the ache in your feet, arms, and legs.
- Aid in the quicker healing of foot ulcers
- Reduce tension and improve coping 2.
Can an amputation result from inadequate circulation?
Yes, individuals with diabetes who have poor circulation are more likely to need an amputation. The life expectancy following an amputation is only five years.
What are some of the consequences of impaired circulation that may arise from improper treatment?
One complication that explains the etiology of poor circulation and neuropathies in the extremities is peripheral artery disease, or PAD. Although elevated blood sugar levels are the long-term cause of both, they are still two quite distinct illnesses.
In PAD, the blood vessel’s lumen becomes rigid and narrowed because to plague deposits. Leg cramps are a warning indicator that should be watched for during activity and should be stopped for rest. Additional symptoms include pins and needles in the legs and feet, numbness, cold extremities, and issues with wounds not healing properly.
Another common problem that can affect the arms, hands, legs, and feet is diabetic peripheral neuropathy. High blood sugar levels over time are the cause of the ensuing lack of sensation. Slow-healing wounds, balance issues, gait abnormalities, foot deformities, and greater pain, burning, or loss of protective sense are among the symptoms.
It takes a lot of sitting to do my work. Is there anything I can do about it?
Attempt operating at an elevated level. Standing desks are available for purchase. When you’re on the phone, get up and move around, or at least every thirty minutes. To strengthen your core muscles for better posture, try chair exercises or working while seated on a therapy ball. You can incorporate exercise into a sedentary lifestyle in a variety of ways.
Due to my diabetes, my feet swell all the time. Does this imply that my circulation is poor?
To find out the cause of your swollen feet, you want to consult a physician. Frequently, congestive heart failure can also lead to “edema,” or swollen feet, as a result of retaining too much fluid. It’s critical that your doctor determines the source of any swelling you may be experiencing. 3.
Let me turn it to you.
Please share your thoughts with us regarding this article about diabetic foot care and circulation. Have you gained any new knowledge? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, along with the steps you take to increase your circulation.
DiabetesCouncils Article | Reviewed by Dr. Jack Isler MD on August 23, 2018
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