Diabetes and joint pain are independent conditions. However, those with diabetes are twice as likely to develop joint pain and/or arthritis. The strong link between these two conditions is undeniable. This is a big cause for concern for diabetes patients who want to prevent joint pain from developing.
While diabetes doesn’t cause joint pain, having diabetes is risk factor for developing it. Let’s take a closer look at why this happens.
What’s diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease resulting from having high levels of blood glucose. Blood glucose plays a key role in keeping your body energized and fueled. In order to get energy, your body has to transport glucose to your cells via insulin. When you don’t have sufficient insulin, this glucose doesn’t reach yours cells and it stays circulating in your blood.
Having too much glucose in your blood can be a health risk, leading to problems including heart disease, kidney disease, nerve damage and foot problems.
What’s joint pain?
Joint pain is often characterized by discomfort and pain in and around your joints. Symptoms include stiffness, swelling, reduced range of motion and tenderness. Joint pain is also called arthritis, which is the condition of joints wearing down.
Let’s look at how high blood glucose can affect your joints and other variables related to your joint pain.
How high blood glucose affects joints
Generally speaking, your joints are made of cartilage, a kind of padding that helps bones move quickly and painlessly. However, joints can damaged in several ways. First, diabetes speeds up wear-and-tear of joints. Second, glucose finds its way to joints and sticks there, making movement sticky and difficult. Third, glucose can reduce the strength of cartilage, making joints less flexible. These three effects mean that your joints are weakened, sticky and less flexible than before.
How high blood glucose affects your weight
Diabetes is often associated with obesity as well. In fact, 90% of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese. Because of excess weight, their body will have a lot of pressure to use insulin to control blood glucose. Being overweight or obese can also be a major factor in terms of joint pain. Arthritis can be developed when your body’s joints are working too hard to lift and maintain your body weight. In this way, your weight with diabetes can be a risk factor for developing joint pain.
How high blood glucose affects activity levels
In addition, high blood glucose can affect your activity levels. Exercise boosts joint health by promoting movement, strength and flexibility. When your joints hurt and you’re overweight, it’s harder to exercise regularly and stay healthy. Often those with diabetes are worried about falling, or are in pain. This reduced activity level means that those with diabetes will develop greater joint pain from lack of exercise. Without exercise, these joints become stickier and weaker. This lack of activity can also cause cardiovascular disease, which can make your diabetes more difficult to manage. In general, these factors continue a vicious cycle of joint pain, inactivity, cardiovascular disease and so on.
Specific joint-related diseases related to diabetes
There are three major joint-related diseases that diabetes patients are at risk of developing. Let’s take a look at how each one affects the body.
1. Diabetic arthropathy
Diabetic arthropathy occurs when joints break down over time. Symptoms of this include changes in the musculoskeletal structure, including thicker skin, structural deformities and joint pain.
Diabetic arthropathy occurs when joints break down over time. Symptoms of this include changes in the musculoskeletal structure, including thicker skin, structural deformities and joint pain.
2. Diabetic neuropathy
High glucose levels can cause nerve damage, affecting the signals being sent from your extremes such as your hands, feet, fingers and toes. This is called diabetic neuropathy and it’s characterized by numbness, tingling, muscular weakness, balance problems and pain. Diabetic neuropathy can greatly affect your joints and your activity levels can suffer as you struggle with balance and pain issues.
3. Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is common for type 2 diabetes patients. It’s caused by excess weight, as the body tries to respond to extra pressure. In this scenario, joints rub together more forcefully and wear down the cartilage padding. Over time, this makes joint damage speed up, become more painful and make exercise more difficult.
How you can reduce joint pain with diabetes?
The best way to reduce joint pain is to go to the heart of the problem. In order to reduce joint pain, it’s key to first lose weight. This will relieve your joints and help your blood glucose levels decrease. In general, an anti-inflammatory diet is recommended for your joint pain. This diet focuses on fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as fish, olive oil and whole grains. To see results, you should also reduce your intake of processed foods, which can cause inflammation and make your pain worse. You should also take your salt shaker off the table and flavor your meals with nutrient-rich spices.
Furthermore, to reduce joint pain, it’s important to get regular low-impact aerobic exercise. If you’re in pain or your joints are weak, it’s a good idea to choose low-impact options including swimming, yoga or Tai Chi:
- Swimming: This option is great because the water is soft on your joints and can even feel soothing. In addition, it involves great aerobic exercise that you need to stay healthy.
- Yoga: Yoga is also low-impact on your joints and uses poses to strengthen and stretch your muscles. It has a positive role in reducing stress as well.
- Tai Chi: Tai Chi is good for you at every age and health level. Tai Chi is slow, continuous movement that promotes joint health.
All three of these sports are good on your joints, while also getting aerobic exercise. Make sure that you always stretch before exercising as well in order to avoid injury or stress to your body.
Final takeaway
Managing joint pain with diabetes isn’t easy. By losing weight and doing regular low-impact exercise, you may see positive results. If you’re struggling with pain, however, you might also consider seeing a chiropractor. A chiropractor will help you put together a care plan involving diet, exercise, supplements, as well as adjustments and therapies to reduce pain and boost flexibility. When in doubt, don’t hesitate to consult an expert near you or you can visit my clinic, Better Health Chiropractic.
About Dr. Brent Wells
Dr. Brent Wells, D.C. founded Better Health Chiropractic & Physical Rehab in Alaska in 1998 and has been a chiropractor for over 20 years. His practice has treated thousands of patients from different health problems using various services designed to help give you long-lasting relief.
Dr. Wells is also the author of over 700 online health articles that have been featured on sites such as Dr. Axe and Lifehack. He is a proud member of the American Chiropractic Association and the American Academy of Spine Physicians. And he continues his education to remain active and updated in all studies related to neurology, physical rehab, biomechanics, spine conditions, brain injury trauma, and more.
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