Sensorimotor training improves gait, ankle joint proprioception, and quality of life in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy: A single-blinded randomized controlled trial

Abstract

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.