Effect of Resistance and Aquatic Exercises on Balance in Diabetes Peripheral Neuropathy Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial Study

One of the most common complications of diabetes peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is the loss of balance, postural control disorder and falling down. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to compare the effect of resistance and aquatic exercises on balance in DPN patients in 2019, in the Shahbazi pool, Kermanshah, Iran.

This randomized clinical trial study was conducted on 30 women inflicted with DPN who referred to Diabetes Research Center in Kermanshah. The subjects were selected through convenience sampling method and were randomly divided into three groups, including aquatic exercises (n=10), resistance exercises (n=10), and control (n=10). Resistance and aquatic exercise groups had a training program of 8 weeks which included 40-minute sessions three times a week. The static and dynamic balance, simple reaction time, and choice reaction time of the subjects were evaluated before and after the exercises. Finally, ANCOVA and paired t-test were used for the data analysis. A p-value of less than 0.5 was considered statistically significant.

Both resistance and aquatic exercises resulted in improvement regarding simple reaction time, choice reaction time, and static and dynamic balance, compared to the control group (P<0.001). Aquatic exercise protocol resulted in significant improvement in static balance with the eyes closed (P<0.001) and choice reaction time (P=0.001), compared to the resistance and control groups.

Based on the results, it seems that aquatic exercises are more effective regarding balance and simple and choice reaction time in comparison to resistance exercises, in DPN patients