Effects of Modified Stretching Exercises on Fatigue Intensity in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Background: Patients with type 2 diabetes suffer from fatigue and disease complications. Exercise is one of the non-medicinal methods, which is also affordable and can be done at any time and place. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the effects of modified stretching exercise on fatigue intensity in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: In the present clinical trial study, the research population consisted of all patients with type 2 diabetes in the internal clinic of Shahid Fayaz-Bakhsh Hospital, Tehran, in 2021. A total number of 50 eligible patients with type 2 diabetes were selected by non-randomized sampling method. The selected participants were randomly divided into two groups: Experiment (25 people) and control (25 people). In the experimental group, training was held in 12 sessions. A demographic checklist and the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) were used to collect data before and after the intervention. The collected data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and paired t-test, chi-square, and independent t-test. Results: Before the intervention, there was no statistically significant difference in the overall scores of fatigue and its dimensions between the experimental and control groups (P > 0.05). After completing the interventions, a statistically significant difference was observed in the mean scores of fatigue and its dimensions between the experimental and control groups (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Modified stretching exercises can improve the severity of fatigue in patients with type 2 diabetes. We suggest that healthcare providers use this stretching exercise to improve fatigue in diabetic patients.