Heading Off Peripheral Neuropathy

Long-term aerobic exercise can prevent the onset or course of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, according to a recently published study.

A group of investigators studied the effect of long-term exercise training on 78 participants with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Thirty-one participants were randomized to engage in a supervised program of brisk walking on a treadmill for at least 4 hours per week. The remainder stuck with their usual habits. Participants were followed up for 4 years, during which members of both groups were evaluated for peripheral neuropathy.

A significantly greater proportion of the non-exercising control participants developed diabetic peripheral neuropathy during the study period.

“Mild aerobic exercise training, like brisk walking, could be an effective and reasonable treatment tool to prevent the onset or modify the natural history” of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, researchers conclude.

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