Effects of physical therapy activity on glycemic profile, body composition and physical functional capacity in type II diabetics

Abstract

Background: Little is known about the effects of a single weekly supervised therapeutic physical activity session in diabetics, so it was decided to examine it the possibility of gain from this practice. Objective: To evaluate the effects of supervised exercises upon glycemic profile, body composition and functional capacity. Methods: in the first session, 28 type II diabetics were evaluated by capillary blood glucose, body composition (BMI and body fat percentage) and physical function (Time Up and Go, Sit-to-Stand and Step Test). Being reassessed after eight weekly exercise sessions. The T-Student for dependent variables was used (p <0.01 - Statistica 7). Results: the data of 14 individuals were used, resulting in glucose reduction in short term (25% - pre and post exercise) and improvement in functional tests, however, there was no statistical significance in the long run for capilar glucose and body composition. Conclusion: in the inability to perform exercises often, a supervised weekly session would be able to induce improvements in glucose uptake (short term) and functional capacity.