The therapeutic use of exercise for diabetes mellitus was prescribed as early as 600 BC by the Indian physician Sushruta, and was widely recommended by physicians of the 18th century. Elliott Joslin identified exercise along with dietary management and insulin administration as one of the three components of good therapy in the 1920's. Today exercise is recognized as one of the established principles of diabetes treatment. We all know exercise is important for everyone's health, and it can be especially important if you have diabetes. In some ways, exercise has greater benefits for a person with diabetes since it has an important effect on blood sugar control.
Exercise can lower the blood sugar and improve the body's ability to use glucose.
With regular exercise, the amount of insulin needed decreases. Exercise can also help reverse the resistance to insulin that occurs as a result of being overweight. There is an increase in the number of insulin receptors improving the body's ability to utilize insulin. Exercise improves risk factors for heart disease and decreases the risk of heart problems, which is a major health concern for people with diabetes. Blood pressure is also lowered through exercise and exercise has been shown to improve mild to moderate high blood pressure.