Motor Strategies Used to Restore Balance in People With and Without Impaired Sensory Organization Suffering From Diabetic Polyneuropathy

Background and Objectives Reduced ability to control balance is one of the disorders affecting the quality of life and daily activities of people with diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN), which can lead to dangerous consequences such as falling. By identifying the causes of balance disorders, we can better understand this condition to provide effective and evidence-based treatments for these patients. This study aims to investigate and compare the use of motor strategies in people with and without impaired sensory organization suffering from DPN. Subjects and Methods In this cross-sectional study, 40 people with DPN participated. Their demographic information were recorded and then underwent balance performance test using the sensory organization test. Based on the results, they were divided into two groups: Control group without impaired sensory organization (n=18) and Patient group with impaired sensory organization (n=22). Results The prevalence of inappropriate use of motor strategies to restore balance in DPN patients with impaired sensory organization was higher than in the control group. The adopted inappropriate strategy was mostly in using ankle strategy, where the somatosensory and visual perturbations were higher. Conclusion Patients with DPN use ankle strategy, instead of hip strategy, to restore balance. This non-use of hip strategy is more common in patients with impaired sensory organization.