Background
Diabetic neuropathy is considered as the most common and alarming microvascular complication of diabetes worldwide. Despite the recent major advances, there remains a dearth in literature on effective treatment options that appropriately target the natural history of painful diabetic neuropathy.
Aims
To review various exercise programs for neuropathic pain in type 2 diabetes individuals with diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
Methods
An extensive literature search was performed in Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, Science direct and ProQuest. The inclusion criteria were exercise program for neuropathic pain in type 2 diabetes individuals. Animal studies, chemotherapy, electrotherapy, yoga, behavioural and psychological approaches, and other medical interventions were excluded. A systematic strategy to conduct a review was planned, to search, screen articles and extract data by two reviewers independently.
Results
Nine out of total 5342 screened articles were identified as relevant for the comprehensive review. The studies included exercise protocols for neuropathic pain in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Overall, studies were of low to moderate quality evidence. The findings of this review suggested incorporating exercise program for painful diabetic neuropathy. Exercise intervention is effective in reducing the Michigan neuropathy score (Standardized Mean Difference -2.92, 95% Confidence Interval -4.49 to -1.24; participants = 114; studies = 3; I(2) = 88%) Conclusion: A structured exercise prescription need to be designed exclusively for neuropathic pain in population with type 2 diabetes to improve quality of life. However, there is a further need to explore exercise training to strengthen evidence using large clinical trials.