DPN often leads to balance issues, sensory deficits, and chronic pain, which can severely impact daily functioning and independence. INF therapy aims to improve nerve blood flow and alleviate neuropathic symptoms through manual techniques, while the Otago Exercise Program focuses on enhancing strength and balance to reduce fall risk. By comparing these two interventions, this study seeks to identify effective strategies that can improve balance, reduce pain, and enhance the quality of life for individuals suffering from DPN
Age 50-75years
Both male and female patients will be included in the study
Patient with type 2 diabetes mellitus (diagnosed by the physician)
Patients with a score ≥ 4 on DN4 scale
Patient with presence of any other systemic disease rather than diabetes such as end-stage renal failure, uncontrolled hypertension, severe dyslipidemia, chronic liver disease, autoimmune disease, advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease etc
Patients with documented active alcohol or drug misuse
Patient with total or partial amputation of lower extremities
Participants will be also excluded if they were morbidly obese or if pregnant (self-reported)
Parallel
Intraneural facilitation therapy
Other interventionThe intervention will consist of 24 sessions delivered three times per week over eight weeks, with each session lasting 50-60 minutes. Effects will be measured at baseline (before treatment), after the 4th week and after 8th week (post treatment)
Otago exercise program
Other interventionOtago exercise training was conducted 3 times a week for a total of 50 min per session, including 5 min of warm-up and 5 min of cool-down. Effects will be measured at baseline, at 4th weeks and at 8th week. The exercises consisted of the following strengthening exercises: knee extensors, knee flexors, hip abductors, ankle plantar flexors, and ankle dorsiflexors. The balance retraining exercises consisted of the following: knee bends, backwards walking, walking and turning around, sideways walking, tandem stance, tandem walk, one leg stand, heel walking, toe walking, heel toe walking backwards, and sit to stand
Intraneural facilitation therapy with Otago exercise program
Other interventionThe exercise intervention will be an 8 week, 3xweek, and 50-60 min class following the 20-30min OEP curriculum with 20-30 min /sessions of intraneural facilitation therapy per week. Effects will be measured at baseline, at 4th weeks and at 8th week
DN4
The DN4 Questionnaire is a screening tool for neuropathic pain consisting of 10 interview questions (DN4-interview) and physical tests which has been validated for the diagnosis of diabetic peripheral neuropathy in western populations. The DN4 questionnaire is used to screen for the presence of neuropathic pain. This questionnaire consisted of 4 sections; 3 sections concerned with symptoms review and associated symptoms and the 4th section reserved for physical examination.
Mini BESTest scale
The Mini-BESTest has 14 items, scored from 0-2, so the maximum score is 28
Quality of Life- Diabetic Neuropathy Questionnaire
It is an extensive and validated 35-item questionnaire that has been developed to encompass the complete range of Diabetic Neuropathy (DN) symptoms associated with small fiber, large fiber, and autonomic neuropathy. It is composed of two sections: one focusing on the symptoms experienced by diabetic patients and the other on how the patient's neuropathy affects their activities of daily living (ADLs).
Numeric Pain Rating Scale
Numeric Pain Rating Scale is a subjective measure 11 point (0-10) numerical scale which is a commonly used outcome measure to assess pain intensity, including in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Its score ranges from 0 indicating no pain at all to 10 indicating worst pain
TUG test
In this test, participants are asked to stand up from a chair, walk 3 m, turn, walk 3 m back and sit down again. The time taken to perform this task indicates high or low falls risk. The cut-off scores reported in the articles varied from 10.9 s to 13 s.
Ankle brachial index (ABI)
ABI (Osc-ABI) during the first measurement by the first observer were 89.1%, 94.4%, 94.1%, 91.8%, and 92.4%, sensitivity and specificity respectively normal value will be 0.9-1.4, higher: greater than 1.4, typically indicative of vessel stiffening. Low: less than 0.9 means narrowing of vessels, non-measurable: unable to occlude blood vessel at 300mmHG of pressure application
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