Testing Balance and Movement to Detect Nerve Damage Early

This research study is testing whether doctors can use simple, objective balance and movement tests—like standing on one leg or measuring how you shift your weight—to detect peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage) early in people with diabetes or chronic kidney disease. Right now, nerve damage is often detected late or missed entirely because current tests rely too much on the examiner's skill and patient feedback. The study hopes to prove that functional movement tests are more accurate and can catch nerve damage before it becomes severe.

Nerve damage affects about half of all people with diabetes or kidney disease, but current screening methods are unreliable, time-consuming, and often detect damage only after it's already advanced. This trial exists to find a faster, more objective way to screen for nerve damage early—when treatment might be more effective—so that doctors can identify at-risk patients in routine clinical practice.