Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2024 Feb 29. doi: 10.1097/PHM.0000000000002453. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of Sensorimotor Training (SMT) on gait, ankle joint proprioception, and quality of life in Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN) patients.
DESIGN: A prospective, single-blind, randomized controlled experiment was performed. Forty patients with DPN aged 50 to 65 yrs were distributed randomly into two groups, the SMT group (n = 20) and the control group (n = 20). Both groups attended awareness sessions about diabetes and foot care for 30 minutes, every two weeks. Moreover, the SMT group received 6wk (3 days/week) of SMT. Spatiotemporal gait parameters, proprioception accuracy of the ankle joint, and quality of life were measured before and after 6 weeks of intervention.
RESULTS: Regarding baseline data, no significant differences were identified among groups (p > 0.05). After 6wk intervention, the SMT group exhibited significant improvements in all outcome variables (p < 0.001), while the control group showed significant changes in quality of life only (p = 0.03). Comparing groups after intervention reveals statistically significant differences in all measured variables in favor of the SMT group (p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Sensorimotor training may improve spatiotemporal gait parameters, ankle joint proprioception, and quality of life of patients with DPN.
PMID:38466203 | DOI:10.1097/PHM.0000000000002453
