A study protocol on experiences and outcomes of neural mobilization and high intensity laser therapy in individuals with chronic sensorimotor diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

BACKGROUND

Neural mobilization and Laser therapy are proven to be effective in improving functional impairments in Chronic Sensorimotor Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (CSMDPN). Still, there is hardly any qualitative study that has investigated the experiences and outcomes of patients with CSMDPN regarding Neural mobilization and High Intensity Laser therapy as therapeutic interventions. So, this study aims to estimate and explore the experiences and outcomes of Neural mobilization and High Intensity Laser therapy in patients with Chronic Sensorimotor Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy.

METHODOLOGY: A mixed-method approach will be conducted on 16 patients with CSMDPN. Group-1 and group-2 will undergo Neural mobilization of the tibial and common peroneal nerve, and High Intensity Laser therapy for 4 times/week for 3 weeks and after a washout period of 1 week, intervention will be reversed in both groups. Pre-post assessment will be taken after completion of each intervention with quantitative outcome measures S-LANSS for neuropathic pain, static balance & proprioception by Pedalo-Sensamove Balance Test Pro with Miniboard, Plantar pressure distribution by using Harris mat, Nerve Conduction Velocity of tibial and common peroneal nerve, Sympathetic Skin Response (SSR), and NeuroQoL-H questionnaire for quality of life. After the completion of each intervention depth face to face, semi-structured interviews will be conducted to explore the experiences of patients having CSMDPN about Neural Mobilization and High Intensity Laser therapy.

DISCUSSION: The results achieved after the completion of this study may provide both quantitative and qualitative information which helps in collecting broad information about the facilitators and barriers of interventions for the benefit of CSMDPN patients for future implementation in clinical practice. CTRI/2023/12/060929 [Registered on: December 29, 2023].