Neuropathy sufferers know that the pain, muscle weakness, lack of balance, and overall health complications can make everyday activities harder to manage. Not to mention, a person with peripheral neuropathy is often at an increased risk of experiencing falls due to poor balance and muscle weakness. This is why exercise is a vital component to your neuropathy recovery. Exercise can build muscle strength, while increasing circulation and improving balance and coordination.
Benefits of Exercise
- Improves Strength
- Improves Balance and Coordination
- Improves Circulation and blood flow to limbs
- Increases oxygenation to the nerves
- Aids in controlling blood sugar levels and insulin resistance
- Increases Endorphins (happy hormones)which aid in decreasing pain
Five signs of excessive exercise
- Feeling weaker, rather than stronger, after thirty minutes of exercise;
- Excessive muscle soreness twenty-four to forty-eight hours after exercise;
- Severe muscle cramping;
- Heaviness in the extremities;
- Prolonged shortness of breath.
For many people, the prospect of exercising while suffering from neuropathy seems unrealistic. For this reason we’ve created different categories of exercise. The category that you choose will be based on your stability and severity of neuropathy.
I. Unstable (moderate-severe neuropathy)
Follow these exercises if you have very poor balance, and use a walker, or a cane.
Neuropathy Exercises for Unstable Patients
II. Stable (moderate neuropathy)
Follow these exercises if you balance is adequate.
Neuropathy Exercises – Stable Patient
III. Early Onset(mild neuropathy)
Follow these exercises if you are athletic with very good balance.
Advance Neuropathy Exercises