NHS HIGHLAND: A little can add a lot of health benefits
Managing Type 2 Diabetes, in fact any long-term condition, can feel more of a struggle if our emotional health is struggling too.
In Diabetes, the symptoms of stress, anxiety and low mood not only impair our ability to function well, including self-management of the disease, but the hormone imbalances associated with such common mental health conditions can aggravate Diabetes symptoms too.
This is why NHS Highland is keen to promote emotional wellbeing for those living with Diabetes, and there is a wealth of resources available - just visit the NHS Highland website or use the New to Type 2 app for more information.
The theme of this year's Stress Awareness month has been 'Little by little, little becomes a lot', and the theme for the annual Mental Health Awareness Week (May 13-19) is ‘Movement: Moving more for our mental health’.
Subscribe to receive regular email newslettersIt certainly helps to have manageable goals in mind and taking smaller steps to avoid feeling overwhelmed...every journey starts with a first step, as they say - especially if we are trying to overcome obstacles to being more physically active.
There are so many benefits from being more active, be that pottering in the garden or reaching a mountain viewpoint, dancing with the hoover or going to an organised class.
Movement really helps to reduce adrenalin and cortisol levels and increasing endorphins and other 'happy hormones'.
From a Diabetes perspective, movement is particularly important as regular activity can encourage the body use insulin more effectively.
However, if your physical health is the barrier to increasing physical activity, then what can be done? As Jude Arnaud, Clinical Lead for First Contact Physiotherapists in General Practice, tells us, musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries and conditions are a lot more common than we think.
"Soft tissue injuries, sprains, sports injuries, joint arthritis, problems with muscles, ligaments, tendons or bones (etc) and these conditions can happen at any time and to anyone. However, you don’t have to live with muscle and joint pain."
Jude leads a team of First Contact Physiotherapists (FCPs) based within every GP practice in the Highland health and social care partnership area, enabling fast access to specialist treatment and advice.
On average, 35,000 patients a year access the service, 95 per cent of whom did not require GP follow-up.
In addition to this fantastic service, the team recently launched a trial of a physiotherapy app, called Phio. It means you can access advice from a smart phone at any time.
This free, interactive product is monitored by Phio's physiotherapists to ensure it is evidence-based.
Anyone aged 16 or over and registered with any GP practice in NHS Highland with pain or discomfort relating to muscles, joints or ligaments can try Phio. You can read more about Phio on the NHS Highland website, or speak to your GP practice.
Coming back then to staying well alongside self-managing your Type 2 Diabetes, there is much we can do to keep things feeling manageable – moving more often being one of them.
For ideas, search ‘exercise’ on Diabetes UK website, or look at ways to get involved at mentalhealth.org.uk
Let’s see if May, and the long-awaited signs of spring (finally!) can give us the nudge to increase our activity levels, in whatever way that means to us – from pottering in the garden to reaching the viewpoint on a wilderness walk, to dancing whilst we hoover, to signing up for a class.
Any movement will be beneficial so with a spring on our step, little by little, let’s all aim to move more for better Diabetes health.
Fiona Blunsden is a cognitive behavioural therapist in the public health team with NHS Highland.
