Diabetes
Conditions
Keywords
Postural Balance, Gait, Fall risk
Brief summary
Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) can severely deteriorate balance and gait in patients, thereby increasing risk of fall and injury. The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of a virtual reality game based exercise training for improving postural body sway and gait in diabetes patients with peripheral neuropathy. The exercise training has been specifically designed for DPN patients with lost lower extremity joint perception and uses state-of-the-art inertial sensors (body-worn) to acquire joint movement and provide real-time joint feedback through an interactive interface on a LCD monitor. The investigators hypothesize that tailored exercise with real-time visual joint feedback during exercise will reduce improve balance and gait.
Detailed description
The game includes a series of ankle reaching tasks and crossing of virtual obstacles on the monitor screen; these exercises are aimed to improve weight shifting capabilities and medial-lateral movement of body.
Interventions
DEVICESensor-based exercise training
Body-worn sensors are mounted on different body segments to acquire joint kinematic data and provide real-time joint feedback during exercise training.
OTHERIn-home balance training
The control group performs similar exercise as intervention without sensors and with no visual feedback from sensors.
Sponsors
Qatar National Research Foundation, Qatar
University of Arizona
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
50 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Diabetic peripheral neuropathy * Age \> 50 (Men or Women) * Able to walk 60 feet
Exclusion criteria
* Major lower extremity amputation * Cognitive deficits (MMSE 24 or below) * Severely impaired vision
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Postural Balance | 6 weeks | Postural balance is assess at baseline and post-training using body-worn sensors |
| Gait | 6 weeks | Gait is assessed at baseline and post-training using body-worn sensors |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Activity | 6 weeks | Physical activities of daily living are assessed at baseline and post-training using a T-shirt embedded body-worn sensor (PAMSys) |
| Functional Performance | 6 weeks | Tests, including 3m timed up and go test and alternative step test, are performed. Time is recorded using a stop watch. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed