Effect of cold application versus transcutaneous nerve stimulation on chemotherapy induced diabetic peripheral neuropathy post mastectomy

Abstract

Abstract Background The adverse effects of chemotherapy‐induced diabetic peripheral neuropathy (CIDPN) are rather prevalent. There is no known pharmaceutical treatment that can stop CIDPN. Objective This study compared the effects of cold application and transcutaneous nerve stimulation (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)) on individuals who had undergone mastectomy following CIDPN. Subjects and methods Between Mars 2021 and September 2021, a randomised controlled experiment was carried out at physical therapy clinics at the Modern University for Technology and Information. 30 patients were randomly split into two equal groups (A and B). Both lower limbs received cold application (Group A) three times per week for 12 weeks and TENS application (Group B) three times each week for 12 weeks. The Visual Analogue Scale and nerve conduction velocity for the sural nerve were used to assess patients before and after 12 weeks of therapy. Results The results showed that Group A significantly ( p < 0.05) decreased pain intensity after treatment by 70.83% compared with Group B by 55.17%. Moreover, Group A improved significantly ( p < 0.05) the sural nerve amplitude by 44.12% compared with group B which recorded 26.87%. After treatment, both pain intensity and sural nerve amplitude significantly ( p < 0.05) changed between Group A versus Group B. Conclusion Cold application has a better effect on pain in CIDPN post mastectomy.