Lower Extremity Splinting to Manage Pain and Sleep Disturbances Associated With HIV/AIDS Related Peripheral Neuropathy

Summary

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY? The investigators want to know if wearing a pair of splints at night works to bring the pain down and help you sleep better (in people living with HIV/AIDS related neuropathy).

HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL PARTICIPATE? About 58 to 88 people will take part in this study at the Harris County Hospital District (HCHD).

WHAT WILL HAPPEN DURING THIS STUDY? As a participant, you will be assigned to one of two treatment groups. In one group, you will be asked to wear leg splints at night and the other you will wear the liners of the splints only.

You will be asked to answer questions about how well you sleep, how long you sleep, and about your discomfort at the legs. The researcher will be there to help, but the investigators want you to answer the questions on your own if you can. You will be asked to reach forwards standing next to a wall and to walk for 6 minutes after that. The tests will de done in random order. The sessions will be done at the beginning, at week three and week six. You should finish all of the testing and questionnaires in an hour or less, for a total of three hours over six weeks in the investigators clinic.

You will receive instructions on how to use the splints with liners or the liners alone at home. You will be asked to wear them at night only for the next 6 weeks. Finally, the principal investigator will contact you weekly by phone, to discuss issues of comfort and your ability to adhere to the instructions provided.

Conditions

• HIV
• AIDS
• Peripheral Neuropathy
• Pain
• Sleep

Interventions

DEVICE

Splinting application to the lower extremities

Walkabout™ splints (Don Joy Orthopedics, Vista, CA, USA) will used in the splinting treatment. The Walkabout splint is a one-piece injection molded walking boot fitted with a rocker bottom allowing for ambulation. The participants will be fitted and instructed to wear the bilateral LE splints to sleep for the duration of the study (6 weeks).

DEVICE

Splint liner application

The liner or protective sheath from the Walkabout™ splint will be applied to the LEs, with the structural frame of the splint removed by the researcher in advance, patients will be blinded to this arm of the study (6 weeks).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Harris County Hospital District

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• DJO Incorporated

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• Texas Woman's University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Robert Sandoval, MS, PT · Texas Woman's University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2011-08-31

Primary Completion

2012-06-30

Completion

2012-06-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations