Evaluation of Cervical Proprioception in Type 2 Diabetes Individuals in Comparison to Healthy Individuals

This study aimed to assess cervical proprioception and Kinesthesia in individuals with Type 2 diabetes (T2D) compared to healthy subjects.

This observational-descriptive study was conducted using a cross-sectional approach. The study comprised 20 individuals with type 2 diabetes (10 females, 10 males, aged 40 to 65, diabetes duration ≥5 years, no prior neck issues) and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals Participants underwent 3 sensorimotor tests: (1) the JPET to assess joint position sense, (2) the CCFT to evaluate the activation and endurance of deep cervical flexors, and (3) the Cervical Movement Sense Test to measure movement accuracy using a computer-based laser tracking system.

The T2DM group demonstrated significantly greater joint position errors in flexion (mean ± SD: 5.01° ± 0.66), extension (6.92° ± 4.39), right rotation (6.70° ± 1.05), and left rotation (6.14° ± 2.41) compared to controls (all P < .05). In the CCFT, diabetic participants had a significantly lower cumulative performance index (58.50 ± 5.88) than healthy individuals (107.80 ± 9.07, P < .0001). The Movement Sense Test revealed significantly worse error scores in both zigzag and figure-8 patterns (eg, Zigzag/Right: -3.12 ± 2.43 in T2D vs -1.12 ± 0.76 in controls, P = .001).

Individuals with T2DM exhibited substantial impairments in cervical proprioception and kinesthesia, including deficits in joint position sense, deep cervical muscle activation, and movement accuracy. These impairments may contribute to balance dysfunction and increased fall risk, suggesting that early identification and targeted rehabilitation strategies may be implicated for improving postural stability in this population. While our findings support the presence of cervical sensorimotor impairments in T2DM, we acknowledge that causation cannot be established due to the cross-sectional nature of this study.