OBJECTIVE: To identify motor sensory deficits in the feet of neuropathic diabetic patients and compare their deficits with a group of healthy subjects. METHOD: 49 neuropathic diabetics (group NG) and 22 controls (group CG) underwent a three-stage protocol: (1) an interview using a questionnaire to characterize the neuropathy and symptoms; (2) assessment of muscle function and range of motion, and functional tests on the feet and ankles; (3) assessment of tactile and thermal sensitivity. The groups were compared using the chi-squared, Mann-Whitney and Student t tests (p<0.05). RESULTS: NG presented significant losses of tactile and thermal sensitivity in comparison with CG, especially in the heels (49.0% of NG and 97.3% of CG). Muscle function was decreased in NG, with predominance of loss of grade 5. The muscles most affected were the interossei (23.4%), extensor hallucis (42.5%) and triceps surae (43.2%), while all muscle function was preserved in CG. All ranges of motion in NG were reduced in comparison with CG. The functional tests on the ankles in NG presented a decrease of around 50%. CONCLUSION: There were significant differences between the groups with regard to sensitivity, muscle function, range of motion and functional losses. These differences can be attributed to the diabetic neuropathy.
sensitivity; diabetes; diabetic neuropathy; assessment; physical therapy
