Impact of Supervised Physiotherapeutic Exercises for Obese Adults with Diabetes Mellitus Type 2

[Purpose] To analyze the impact of a combined physiotherapeutic exercise program for type 2 diabetic adults with obesity and poor health-related quality of life strongly linked to pain. [Subjects] Twenty-five patients, mean age 58 ± 7.8, referred from an endocrinology service, were included. [Methods] They performed 12 weeks of supervised physiotherapeutic exercise for 180-minutes/week. Anamnesis, anthropometric, clinical and laboratory data were recorded before and after the intervention. [Results] Among the participants, 84% had musculoskeletal dysfunction associated with pain, 8% had neuropathic complications and 4% vascular complications. Fibrinogen (mg/dl) (T1: 404.7 ± 77.3; T2: 321.7 ± 99.4), hip circumference (cm) (T1: 118.5 ± 21.7; T2: 113.7 ± 14), skinfold sum (mm) (T1: 208.5 ± 90.2; T2: 202.5 ± 86.9) and visual analog scale (T1: 6.1 ± 2.5; T2: 3.1 ± 2.2) decreased significantly after treatment. From quality of life charts, only the outcomes related to social activities did not improve significantly. There were significant improvements in physical condition data, with the exceptions of upper limb strength resistance and balance related measurements. [Conclusion] The intervention substantially improved cardiovascular risk, quality of life and physical condition and composition of middle-aged type 2 diabetic adults with obesity and neuromusculoskeletal disorders.