Abstract
Background and Purpose: Type II Diabetes affects approximately 29 million people and is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States. Current treatment is focused on medication and education for dietary and lifestyle change. The focus of this case report is to investigate the potential effect of a physical therapist supervised exercise program on type II Diabetes, specifically HBA1c. Case Description: A 67 year old male was transitioned from typical physical therapy care to a supervised exercise program focused on improving muscular strength and endurance for a period of 12 weeks. The patient had blood tests taken pre and post intervention to evaluate for change of HBA1c. Outcomes: The patient had a decrease in HgbA1c of .4 over the 12 week period of intervention in spite of no weight loss. The patient also had a decrease in Tug score, increased distance in the 6 minute walk test, and increased repetitions with the 30 second sit to stand test. Discussion: A physical therapist directed supervised exercise program may have assisted with lowering HgbA1c. The full effect of physical therapy based intervention in this population is yet to be determined. More research in this area will elucidate the full potential of physical therapy on this population.