What Sports Can I Play With Diabetes?

Hi everyone, it’s Hyeunjoo, resident diabetic.

If you’re an athlete, and have just gotten a diabetes diagnosis, or if you’re a long-time diabetic that’s been dreaming of getting into sports, good news! Despite being a disability, diabetes doesn’t significantly hinder your ability to play sports.

However, there are some sports which are more suited for diabetics than others, because the amount of physical activity involved in sports can both lead to unexpected low blood sugar episodes and damaging some of the vital technology that diabetics need to survive.

For example, wrestling with an insulin pump is a very very bad idea; worst case, the pump will break, which is both very expensive and very dangerous for you!

Here’s a comprehensive(mostly) list of different types of sports that diabetics can do and my tips for playing them(in a safe way), which will hopefully help you with any athletic endeavors!

Basic Tips: These are tips that apply to pretty much all sports, so these are real important!

1. Carry a sugary sports drink, or some candy or juice, with you. Trust me, these are literal lifesavers if your blood sugar starts to dip too low, so these are a MUST for any intensive physical activity.
2. Have someone who knows about your diabetes around! This can be a coach, parent, friend, etc., but it’s vital that you have someone who not only knows about your diabetes but can help you out if you’re unable to provide care for yourself.
3. If you have one, bringing a diabetes bag(which we talked about in an earlier post on this blog), is also handy! Generally, carry spare items that are important, some sugar, some emergency medication, and any extras you may need for your own unique diabetes experience.
4. If you feel low-energy, make sure to stop and check that you’re not going low; under no circumstances is the game more important than your health, and it’s vital to know if you’re simply feeling tired from exertion or having a medical emergency.

It’s also important to consider the role that insurance can and will play in your sports experience. CGMs and other equipment are pretty costly, so it’s handy to make sure you have some insurance that covers them-both in a general sense and also to make sure you don’t need to worry too much about something getting a little crack.

Luckily, warranties for equipment like pumps tend to last a pretty long time!

Swimming: Swimming is a pretty hard sport without diabetes, so it goes without saying that it’s pretty hard with diabetes too. The good news is that swimming, due to not being the kind of sport where you’re jostled around a ton, isn’t likely to knock any important technology off of you, like a CGM(continuous glucose monitor) or insulin pump.

The bad news is that due to the fact that swimming is…well, swimming, the water will damage your technology unless you have waterproof gear. CGMs and infusion sites are usually fine, since many are made to be waterproof and are already attached to your body, but not all pumps are waterproof. A waterproof insulin pump is great for swimming, but if you don’t have access to one, there’s still some things you can do.

One of the neat things about sports is that the exercise you do naturally lowers your blood sugar by essentially making the insulin in your system more effective. That means you should avoid injecting large numbers of insulin right before exercising, but it also means that you don’t really need to have access to insulin during any exercises unless you’re drinking in liters upon liters of pure sugar while doing laps in the pool.

So, if you don’t have access to a waterproof pump, you can simply take it off while swimming, and put it back on when you’re done! If you don’t even use a pump, then you’re already golden; just don’t try and inject insulin while in the pool. However, regardless of whether you use a pump or not, you should be careful; definitely keep an eye on your CGM(or test your blood sugar often if you don’t use one), and have someone nearby who can help you out if you do go low, pass out, or start to have your blood sugar go all funky on you.

Personally, I managed to swim at a pre-competitive level in middle school even with diabetes, and I wasn’t half bad at it either! Just like in all sports, diabetes isn’t a significant hurdle to your actual performance, it just means you need to take extra care so that you don’t get in a dangerous situation.

Martial Arts: Martial arts are a unique thing when it comes to diabetics. I myself did multiple martial arts(and still do), so it’s absolutely possible to do martial arts while diabetic. The problems arise with the fact that martial arts are simply too varied to give accurate advice on each one.

The general rule is that if you’re doing something that involves grappling or striking, you should probably remove any sensitive equipment, like insulin pumps. CGMs and infusion sites are fine, since they likely won’t fall off unless you’re specifically picking at them, so you don’t need to remove those…at least, not until you’re supposed to change them out regularly!

Some martial arts, like fencing, are less likely to cause damage to your equipment, especially if you’re armored. In these sports it’s fine to keep your equipment on, but make sure its secure; one of the worst things you can have happen is to have your pump fall out in the middle of a match!

Basketball: Basketball is a very popular sport here in the States and all over the world, and the good thing is that diabetics don’t need to do much to play! Besides the general tips mentioned above, you should also make sure to securely fasten all of your equipment, as things like insulin pumps are especially prone to falling off if you’re running and jumping about. Other than that, you’re practically good to go!

Soccer/football: Soccer, or football if you’re not American, is a fairly easy sport to play. Just like in basketball, make sure your equipment is secure and safe and won’t fall off, and you’re good! Since soccer usually doesn’t involve physical contact, you’re likely to not have any problems related to diabetes.

American Football: American football is where things start to get tricky again. The amounts of physical contact involved make playing football a bad idea if you have any sensitive equipment on.

Generally, I’d caution against playing football as a diabetic, as the amount of banging and jostling can really mess up a pump or CGM. Especially since games last a long time, it can be especially dangerous for diabetics.

However, if you absolutely have to play, then there’s some things you can do. First, before the game, it may be prudent to take some extra sugar, like a pack of candy or the like. This will keep your blood sugar on the high side, which will hopefully prevent any lows.

You can also remove your insulin pump in tandem with this, to get rid of possibly the most fragile piece of diabetic medical equipment(and one of the msot vital). So long as your numbers are fine, you’ll be fine.

You can also drink a sugary sports drink or something along those lines to keep your blood sugar up during the game.

Unfortunately, in football(and in any contact sports, really), physical contact is inevitable, and that may damage your CGM or infusion sites, possibly tearing them off, even. It’s something that will likely happen at some point while playing, but if you’re a massive football fan, don’t worry; an infusion site or CGM coming off is fairly painless, and unless you’re unable to replace them for whatever reason, it probably won’t affect you too much.

Especially careful players can use extra adhesive patches to really secure CGMs or infusion sites.

Other Sports: There are many other sports I haven’t mentioned, but since I don’t have experience with many of them, I’m rather hesitant to provide any significant advice on them. In general, here’s some rules:

1. If it’s a contact sport, be careful, and possibly remove your insulin pump temporarily along with making sure your numbers are in a healthy range all the time. Exercise lots of caution with these types of sports, both in general and for your diabetic care!
2. If it’s a sport that’s non-contact, you’re probably fine, and don’t have to do much! Make sure your pump and any gear you may use are secure, and go have a blast!
3. If it’s in water, definitely remove your pump and other gear, unless they’re specifically waterproof(water resistant won’t cut it).
4. If it’s a sport like ping pong or chess, you probably don’t have to do anything at all.

That’s all! If you have any specific questions, or want to let us know if we missed something, feel free to contact us!

Until next time!