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Background: Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) changes leg muscle coordination during walking and reduces stability. The aim of this study was to determine whether rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) affected the gait performance of patients with DPN. Methods: Forty DPN patients (mean age, 59.1 ± 9.4 y) were randomly allocated to RAS and control groups in equal numbers. The participants in each group underwent 2 weeks of supervised rehabilitative treatment (40 min/day) as inpatients. This included walking twice a day, during which the RAS group participants walked in time with a metronome set at a self-chosen, comfortable rate. We compared gait function, lower limb muscle co-contraction, and gait stability before and after the intervention for both groups, calculated the change in score for each parameter, and assessed differences between the groups with unpaired t-tests and ANCOVA. Results: RAS was associated with significant improvement in all parameters. In the control group, there was no improvement in cadence, co-contraction, or gait stability (vertical). Compared with the control group, the RAS group showed improvement in co-contraction and gait stability. Conclusion: RAS may be helpful for improving the lower limb muscle coordination and gait function of DPN patients.

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The aim of this study was to demonstrate the timing of the decline of gait in patients with type 2 diabetes. [Participants and Methods] The subjects were 141 patients with type 2 diabetes, and they were divided into 10-year age groups from the 30s to the 70s. Gait velocity, step length, cadence and gait variability were assessed using the comfortable-pace 10-m walk test. [Results] Analysis with the Tukey test showed that the step lengths of the 60s and 70s groups were significantly lower than those of the other groups. Gait speed and gait variability of 70s group were significantly worse than those of the other groups. ANCOVA found no significant differences within each group. [Conclusion] The results suggest that the gait parameters of type 2 diabetes patients may begin to decline from the age of 60s.

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