Hi all
I have been type 1 for 47 years and have MS for past 5. Dose anyone have any idea what type of exercise I can do. I can walk for 20min to 1/2 hour before balance problem sets inwith MS. I take my dogs out for walk 3 times a day. I do work pt. I know you have to exercise to control blood glucose. My last A1c was 5.9 in Dec 2011.
Hi Bill. I understand your problem somewhat. I don't have MS, but do have a spinal injury that wrecked my balance and speed of coordination (can't move legs fast enough to jog, etc.) as well as 43 years of diabetes. I too walk my dogs. The other day I tried my husband's exercise bike for 20 minutes and it went pretty well. Boring, though. I got myself a 6-speed adult tricycle a couple years ago (used to be an avid bicyclist, but didn't feel safe balance-wise anymore), and it is lots of fun to ride on pavement. Less so here where I live because all the roads are gravel.
I agree exercise, vigorous if possible, is critical to keeping diabetic complications at bay. And I feel like I've been losing ground the past several years since the added balance/coordination problems. Recently I went to physical therapy for a few months to learn how to maintain core strength so my lower back would stay put and not spasm. A bother but it seems to be working. Your A1c is terrific! Mine is 6.6 and that is from too wide a span of numbers, high and low.
I am a recent fan of chair exercises. I have some problems with knee, hip and lower back pain (arthritis, glycosylation of tendons) and I find that doing chair exercises is a good way to work some heart-pumping exercise in-between my walks.
I turn on some up-beat music, sit on a stable, arm-less chair (e.g. a kitchen or dining room chair with no arms) and exercise along with the music. I do arm lifts above my head, arm lifts to the side, bicep curls, triceps lifts (hold arm strait overhead with elbow facing slightly forward, make loose fist, drop lower are behind your back and then lift it, drop it and lift it, keeping your upper arm straight up by your ear the entire time), etc. Little arm circles one way and the other (with arms held out to the side) are good for working the shoulder muscles. I also do air punches, blocks and chops (years ago I studied martial arts and these moves are now just part of my dance repertoire -- scary, huh?)
Most 'pop' songs on my iPod last between 3:45 and 4:00 minutes long. I try to do chair exercises to at least ten songs per day, scattered between all my other walking, dancing, stretching, etc. It's a great, fun, easy, quick way to get my heart rate up and increase my respiration for a bit -- very helpful when you have a sedentary job. I even like to do these sitting on the side of the bed first thing in the morning. I'll put in my ear-buds, turn on a medium-rate song and do these a bit slower as a way to wake up and get my circulation going before I stretch up, stand up and face the day.
Increasing muscle mass is the best for diabetes. Have you tried weights? Not talking about bench pressing:) Easy to do at home.
http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/rehabilitation-exercises/free-weights-exercises
Please look into LDN (Low Dose Naltrexone) for MS http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/index.htm.