What does a chiropractor know about Diabetes?

What does a chiropractor know about diabetes?

During a new patient history after dealing with the main complaint that brought the patient to the office, I will ask some general health questions assessing for things like diabetes.
What does a chiropractor know about diabetes, aren’t they just for backs? A chiropractor’s scope of practice is limited to neuromusculoskeletal conditions, or conditions related to nerves, muscles and bones, however as primary contact health care providers we just as importantly need to know about conditions that we don’t manage.

Getting back to our question, what does a chiropractor know about diabetes? While diabetes is an increasingly common problem, especially Type 2 diabetes that has its onset in middle age, it is often an undiagnosed condition. Research suggests that 3-5% of the adult population are undiagnosed diabetics or prediabetics.

Thus as a chiropractor we need to be aware of the signs and symptoms of diabetes so patients can get the care and education they need. Some of these signs and symptoms relate to the neuromusculoskeletal system, such as muscle cramps, numbness and tingling in the hands or feet, weakness, stiff and painful joints, contractures of the hands, back and neck pain. I will assess the vibration sense of the feet as this sense is often lost early in diabetes, leading to problems with balance, falls and possibly injuries to the feet and toes which can heal poorly.

Secondly, as chiropractors we can help treat some of the neuromusculoskeletal conditions associated with the condition. Encouraging activity and exercise is an early treatment for diabetes, this can be hard to do if it hurts to move.

  • Conditions that are commonly associated with diabetes that can be helped by chiropractic care are:
  • Peripheral neuropathy
  • Stiff Hands Syndrome
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome
  • Adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder
  • Tenosynovitis
  • Back pain
  • Neck pain
  • Joint pain
  • Dupuytren’s contracture

So hopefully that helps to answer the question, what does a chiropractor know about diabetes?

So if you have diabetes or know someone with diabetes, add me to your healthcare team
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Why does my chiropractor care about my feet?

Why does my chiropractor care about my feet?

Why does my chiropractor care about my feet? Isn’t that what a podiatrist or chiropodist is for?
Another good question, why should a chiropractor care about feet?
There are several good reasons why as a chiropractor I am interested in feet. Most obviously, feet are the first thing that make contact with the ground and as such have a bearing on what occurs above them I.e, your ankles, your knees, hips and even your back and neck, areas you might expect me to be more interested in.

Why does my chiropractor care about my feet: Posture
If we take someone with flatter feet, meaning the arch on the inside of the foot is lower or absent altogether, this can cause the ankle to roll in when walking or running, causing more forces to be applied to the inside of the knee, tight muscles at the hip and weak glutes. This can lead to increased or imbalanced stresses at the lower back and other compensatory changes in the upper back and neck.

Why does my chiropractor care about my feet: Musculoskeletal conditions
A couple of common conditions we also see in the feet are plantar fasciitis and fat pad syndrome, these typically present as heel pain, either first step of the day or after rest( plantar fasciitis) or with prolonged activity (fat pad). These are conditions that as chiropractors we can easily manage and help educate the patient to manage at home. This might involve exercises for the muscles of the feet or lower legs, custom or off the shelf orthotics shoe inserts, heat or ice.

Why does my chiropractor care about my feet: Neurological conditions
Have you ever wondered why I may check sensation in your feet? I usually check 3 ways, with a very light touch using a tissue, with a sharp object ( paper clip or pinwheel) and lastly checking vibration sense with a tuning fork. Why do I do this? Checking three types of sensation checks three different pathways of the nervous system from the foot to the brain, a problem feeling these sensations tells me something about where the problem may be. Most often with someone with back pain it might mean that a disc is putting pressure on the nerves going to and coming from the feet. It might also be a sign that someone who is diabetic is having a worsening of their condition and are at greater risk of injury be it from lack of balance because they can’t feel the ground under their feet or from cuts to the feet or toes that may not heal well and cause ulceration.

I hope that briefly explains why a chiropractor might care about your feet.
If you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask, or show me your feet.
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