Diabetes and Reflexology

Reflexology can be helpful for patients with diabetes, particularly non-insulin dependent diabetes. Treatment promotes circulation to the limbs, which is a very real concern for someone with diabetes and also helps to alleviate other symptoms.

More importantly, it has been shown to significantly reduce blood glucose levels to the point where the use of hypoglycemic drugs can be discontinued - in mild cases - or gradually decreased for more severe cases (see research findings below).

As with most chronic conditions, a course of at least 6 reflexology treatments may be required before improvements can be seen. I would advise this to be followed by regular monthly or bi-monthly maintenance treatments.

Research

215 patients (118 males and 97 females) were treated for diabetes mellitus (DM) with foot reflexology therapy (FRT). Patients ages ranged from 36 - 70 years (mean = 53 years). The history of DM was 3 - 5 years in 27 patients, 5 - 10 years in 132 patients and 10 - 16 years in 56 patients. The hypoglycemic drugs were discontinued in mild cases and tapered gradually in severe cases. After 1 - 6 courses of FRT (10 days each), 130 cases (60.5%) became asymptomatic and normoglycemic; 80 cases (37.2%) were left with mild symptoms and nearly normal blood/urine glucose; while the remaining 5 cases (2.3%) stayed unchanged.

Source: FOOT REFLEXOTHERAPY IN THE TREATING FOR DIABETES AND DIABETIC COMPLICATIONS - REPORT OF 215 CASES.
By Wang Haizhong, Foot Massage Clinic, Linqing City, Shandong, China

Thirty-two cases of type II diabetes mellitus were randomly divided in two groups. One group was treated with conventional Western medicine (a hypoglycemic agent) plus foot reflexology (FR), the other group with the same medicine only (WM). After 30 days of treatment, fasting blood glucose levels, platelet aggregation, length and wet weight of thrombus, senility symptom scores and serum lipid peroxide were greatly reduced in the foot reflexotherapy group (p<0.05 - 0.01), while no significant change was observed in the Western medicine group. It was concluded that foot reflexotherapy was an effective treatment for type II diabetes mellitus.

Source: TREATING TYPE II DIABETES MELLITUS WITH FOOT REFLEXOTHERAPY
By X.M. Wang, First Teaching Hospital, Beijing Medical university; Chung Kuo Chung His I Chieh Ho Tsa Chih (China), Sept 1993 13 (9) p. 536-8, 517.