HTEMS Treatment of Diabetic Polyneuropathy

High-tone External Muscle Stimulation for Treatment of Diabetic Polyneuropathy

So far, there are no sufficient pharmacologic therapies for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy. Therefore, we evaluated application of high-tone external muscle stimulation (HTEMS) compared to placebo treatment in patients with diabetic neuropathy.

Patients (n=80) with symptomatic diabetic neuropathy will be included into this randomized controlled trial. Each intervention will be administered for a period of at least 30 min on at leat 5 days in a week. Health impairments will be assessed using the neuropathy symptom score (NSS) before, during and after intervention.

Inclusion Criteria:

• symptomatic diabetic neuropathy
• stable oral analgesic regimen

Exclusion Criteria:

• history of drug or alcohol abuse
• cardiac pacemaker or defibrillator
• pregnancy