Effect of Endurance Training on Peripheral Neuropathic Pain and Inflammatory Mediators in Diabetic Rats

Introduction: The pain caused by peripheral nervous neuropathy is one of the most important factors affecting the quality of life of people with diabetes mellitus. In this vein, considering the possible anti-inflammatory effect of regular exercise on reducing pain associated with diabetes, the present study intends to evaluate the effect of six weeks of endurance training on peripheral neuropathic pain, interleukin- 6 (IL-6) and C- reactive protein (CRP) in diabetic neuropathic rats. Methods: 40 male Wistar rats (age: 8 weeks old; weight 200-250g) were randomly divided into 4 equal groups of 10, including: diabetic neuropathy training (DNT), diabetic neuropathy control (DNC), healthy training (HT) and healthy control (HC). The diabetic groups were induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) and two weeks after induction of diabetes, behavioral pain tests were administered and after verifying the neuropathic pain, the endurance training protocol was performed for 6 weeks and 5 sessions per week. For analysis of data paired sample t- test, ANOVA and Bonferroni’s post hoc test were used (p≤0.05). Results: In different groups before and after the training program, the mean reduction in glucose in the training groups was significantly higher than the control groups (P≤0.05); Serum levels of IL-6 and CPR in the diabetic groups was significantly higher than the training groups (P≤0.05); The mean pain of the diabetic neuropathy group were significantly higher than the control rats (P≤0.05); Also, the correlation between IL6, CRP and glucose with the threshold of pain was significantly positive (P≤0.05). Conclusion: It seems that endurance exercise in diabetic neuropathic rats can affect the reduction of pain and inflammatory factors, and aerobic training is a suitable method for preventing, controlling and treating pain caused by diabetes.