A stationary bike as a aid to alleviate diabetes? Wait 'til they get them roller racing! 😉
Diabetics ride for a better life
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17851993%255E23289,00.html
Verity Edwards. January 18, 2006
DIABETES sufferers over the age of 60 could soon find an ally in the bicycle, with a University of South Australia study expected to show the benefits of cycling in alleviating side effects of the disease.
Esther May, head of the university's school of health sciences, has just completed a pilot study on the benefits of riding a stationary bike in alleviating diabetes. She and colleagues Annette Raynor and Sara Jones are about to start a full-scale study.
"It has come out of recognition that physical activity is beneficial [for] many forms of chronic conditions, including diabetes," Professor May told the HES. "The cycling fitted with the work that we'd been doing with diabetes."
While exercise has been recognised as a way of helping regulate sugar levels in the bloodstream of diabetes sufferers, weight-bearing activities such as walking have often lead to further problems.
"We know that podiatrists' waiting rooms are full of people with sores and pressure points and problems with their feet," she said. "It's trying to better match the exercise regime with the problems that they have."
The study focuses on low-impact and non-weight-bearing exercise and how it affects diabetics.
"We're looking at circulation in terms of cycling and how does it feel for them, particularly when a lot of them haven't done it before, but in a controlled environment," she said.
To monitor pressure placed on the feet during cycling, participants wear force plate sensors in their shoes. Ultrasounds also measure blood flow in the foot before, during and after exercise.Glucose levels are monitored as well.
The pilot program used women, with each bringing a friend to keep them company. "If you can get a buddy type system, over time [the exercise regime] might be more sustainable," Professor May said.
Pilot study participant Neta Fioravanti, 62, developed type2 diabetes nine years ago. "It was in both my parents' families," Ms Fioravanti told the HES. "I was expecting [to get] it but not as soon as I did."
Ms Fioravanti had not been physically active recently before she took part in the study. Twice weekly she brought in a friend and they cycled for 20 minutes on stationary bikes.
"I've noticed a difference since we stopped before Christmas," she said. "I was feeling a lot fitter and my sugar levels seemed to be a lot more controlled [when we were cycling].
"If you know your sugar is controlled you know you're doing the right thing. In the long term it's going to, hopefully, help diabetes and it's all to do with the circulation of your lower limbs."