Do diabetic neuropathy patients benefit from balance training?

Peripheral neuropathy is a common complaint of diabetes. Peripheral neural damage in turn will cause balance impairments in diabetic patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of balance exercises on sway indices in diabetic patients with neuropathy. In this clinical trial study, 10 diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy were recruited through simple nonprobability sampling along with 10 nondisabled aged-matched subjects. Participants in both groups were examined for balance abilities with the Biodex Balance System before intervention. The experimental group was tested again after intervention. Intervention consisted of progressive Biodex stability and rocker and wobble-board training for 10 sessions. All tests were done in eyes open and closed conditions with bilateral standing. After intervention, the experimental group was re-examined in the same way. Student and paired t-tests were used for data analysis. The overall stability index and anterior-posterior stability index were significantly decreased after treatment in the experimental group during different conditions. Balance indices in the experimental group were significantly higher than the control group before treatment. There was no significant difference in indices between the two groups after treatment. The results show that balance training can improve stability indices in diabetic patients with neuropathy.