The effect of aerobic training on the control of high blood sugar levels, insulin sensitivity and frequency content of ground reaction forces during running in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy

Failure to control glucose levels for a long time leads to various complications, including neuropathy and decreased muscle mass. Our aim was to investigate the effect of controlling high blood sugar levels and improving insulin sensitivity following aerobic exercise on changes in lean body mass and frequency of ground reaction forces during running in patients with diabetic neuropathy.

In the current study, which was a time series, the statistical sample of the current study included 40 patients with diabetic neuropathy who were randomly divided into two equal control and experimental groups. The experimental group performed aerobic exercises for 12 weeks (3 sessions per week), with an intensity of 55-75% of maximum heart rate. Blood factors and ground reaction force data were collected before and after sports activity. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 26 software.

In the experimental group, blood factors including blood sugar (P=0.002), hemoglobin A1c (P=0.001), fasting insulin (P=0.001) and insulin resistance index (P=0.031) There was a significant decrease in the post-test compared to the pre-test. But the lean body mass did not show any significant change after 12 weeks of aerobic training in the experimental group (P=0.057). The number of essential harmonics of the GRF frequency spectrum of the earth in the internal-external direction in the experimental group was significantly reduced during the post-test compared to the pre-test (P=0.031). The results showed a significant difference in the effect of group*time factor in the mean frequency in the anterior-posterior direction (P=0.035).

Controlling glucose levels and increasing insulin sensitivity and reducing frequency content in both anterior-posterior and internal-external directions after the training period can lead to a reduction in the probability of injury in diabetic patients.