Effects of electrocompression therapy on walking distance and pain reduction in patients with diabetic neuropathy

Complications associated with diabetes may be categorized as macrovascular and microvascular. Among them, diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is one of the major complications of the foot. Conservative methods available to treat diabetic neuropathic foot include electrical stimulation and laser therapy. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a commercial electrocompression device on pain and walking distance in diabetic neuropathic foot. A total of 200 individuals were screened for the study and, on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 20 were selected to participate in the study. The participants’ basic demographic details were collected along with their diabetic status, and they were screened for diabetic neuropathy. Individuals with respiratory complications, cardiac complications, and neuromuscular disorder which would restrict a six-minute walking test, cancer patients, and foot ulcer patients were ex-cluded. All participants were treated with FlowAid FA-100, a sequential contraction compression therapy device (SCCD). The primary outcome measures pre-and postintervention were 6-min walk distance and visual analog scale (VAS) pain score. The mean age of the participants was 63.05 ± 10; the mean duration of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was 9.7 ± 4.32 years. The ankle brachial index (ABI) was 0.95 ± 0.17; the toe brachial index (TBI) was 0.58 ± 0.13. We found a statistically significant increase in 6-min walk distance (pre: 161.7 ± 48.2 m; post: 260.09 ± 37.4 m, P-value < 0.001) and a decrease in VAS pain score (pre: 7.5 ± 1.05 m; post: 3.2 ± 0.76 m, P-value < 0.001). Sequential contraction compression therapy administered by a commercially available device was shown to reduce pain, leading to improvement in walking distance.