| Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is a painful complication of diabetes for which no treatments exist. This study aimed to explore a non-drug, non-invasive treatment to slow or stop the progression of DPN. The physiological mechanism of temperature and the psychological mechanism of perceived control were explored for effects on pain. Participants with DPN were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The experimental group received six sessions of thermal biofeedback assisted relaxation (TBAR), to increase temperature, a measure of perfusion that could be implicated in nerve damage of DPN. The control group attended six sessions and talked about benign topics with an experimenter. Hand and foot temperature, level of pain and perceived control were assessed. Results revealed a significant negative relationship between pain and control and an inconsistent relationship between temperature and gender. Repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted to test change in temperature, perceived control, and pain perception between the groups using within and between session measures. No significant effects were produced for any model tested yet, effect sizes indicated that pain reduced within sessions more in the experimental group. Results also revealed a significant decrease in temperatures between sessions in the experimental group. Effect sizes overall suggested a lack of power due to small sample size. This study supports the use of TBAR to increase peripheral temperature, at least temporarily, though further research, with larger sample sizes is needed. |
