Nurse-Led Foot-Ankle Exercises and Changes in Neuropathy Symptoms and Diabetic Foot Risk Indicators: A Quasiexperimental Study

AimTo examine whether a nurse-led foot-ankle flexibility and resistance exercise programme, delivered alongside usual care, was associated with changes in neuropathy symptoms and diabetic-foot risk/self-care indicators among adults with diabetes.BackgroundDiabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) contributes to reduced protective sensation, limited joint mobility and impaired self-care, increasing DFU risk. Low-cost exercise programmes targeting foot-ankle mobility and strength may improve neuropathy-related symptoms and modifiable DFU risk factors, but practice-based evidence in routine nursing settings remains limited.DesignQuasiexperimental, nonrandomized, nonequivalent control-group pre–post study.MethodsAdults with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes attending an outpatient diabetes clinic were recruited by convenience sampling (N = 60) and allocated to an intervention group (usual care plus structured exercise education and supervised practice; n = 30) or a control group (usual care; n = 30). Outcomes were assessed at baseline and 1 month using the Neuropathy Total Symptom Score-6 (NTSS-6) and the Diabetes Foot Assessment/Risk Screening scale. Because allocation was nonrandomized and outcomes were analysed in categories, inferential analyses were exploratory and based on chi-square/Fisher’s exact tests with Cramer’s V effect sizes.ResultsAt 1 month, neuropathy symptom severity categories differed significantly between groups (χ2 = 34.236 and p