Hot Tub Therapy For People With Diabetes

Excerpts from This article was originally published in Diabetes Health in August, 2008.

Is it possible that a dip in the hot tub can cause a dip in the blood sugars? According to a pilot study that appeared in the September 16 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), "hot tub therapy" helped a group of type 2s reduce their blood sugars, lose weight and improve sleep patterns. 

Philip L. Hooper, MD, of the McKee Medical Center in Loveland, Colorado, studied five type 2 men and three type 2 women, ages 43 to 68. The patients had been suffering from diabetes from three to 14 years.

"These results suggest that hot tub therapy should be further evaluated as a therapy for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus," says Hooper. "It may be especially helpful for patients who are unable to exercise."

23 mg/dl Reduction in BGs

The temperature of the hot tub water went as high as 104 degrees Fahrenheit. The type 2 subjects sat in the hot tub by themselves with water up to their shoulders for 30 minutes per day, six days per week, for three weeks. The patients' average blood glucose (BG) levels were reduced from 182 mg/dl to 159 mg/dl after three weeks, while HbA1c was reduced from an average of 11.2% to 10.2%. Weight was decreased by an average of 3.75 pounds.

In an interview with Diabetes Health, Hooper explained how one of the study participants, after 10 days, reduced his daily dose of insulin by 18 percent. Another subject, however, showed no reduction in her HbA1c.

"I asked her how her three weeks had gone," Hooper explains. "She said she had a terrible three weeks. Her coworker had quit, her house had gone up for sale and her daughter had a complication in her pregnancy. She said the only quiet time in her day was when she was in the hot tub. In other words, during the study, she was under emotional stress, which will increase blood sugars. Hers, however, stayed the same."

Hooper adds that two other subjects weighed more than 375 pounds, but found their bodies felt much better after three weeks of hot tub therapy.

"Most subjects found that their blood sugars went back up two to three weeks after stopping the study," says Hooper.

We have Hot Tubs and Swim Spas Available at http://www.suntekpoolsandspas.com/page8.html