The Effect of Breathing Exercise and Pressurized Cold Application on Pain and Anxiety During Sharp Debridement in Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Approximately half of the diabetic population is at risk for developing foot ulcers. A prevalence study conducted in our country stated that more than 1 million of 7 million patients with diabetes developed diabetic foot ulcers (DAU) and nearly 500,000 patients had diabetic foot infections. Diabetic foot ulcers cause deterioration in the patient's quality of life, significant increase in treatment costs, lower extremity amputations and increased mortality. 50-70% of non-traumatic foot amputations are performed on diabetic foot patients .

When the literature is examined, it is seen that breathing exercises have been used to support the treatment of stress, fatigue and pain since human history. Breathing exercise is a method that ensures body-mind harmony. Conscious deep and slow breathing helps develop conscious control over relaxation and increases awareness. The distracting effect of breathing can be effective in relieving pain through many different mechanisms: Breathing exercises can relieve tension and muscle spasms in the body by reducing stress. Pain is often associated with stress, tension and anxiety. The rhythmic and regular movement of breathing can help calm the mind and become less sensitive to pain. It may increase the release of natural painkillers called endorphins. Deep breathing and relaxation can trigger the release of endorphins in the brain and reduce the perception of pain. There are studies that breathing exercise increases the pain threshold, reduces the level of anxiety by allowing the person to relax, and has healing effects on vital signs.

Cold application is used as an effective alternative treatment to relieve pain and is recommended because it reduces pain as a result of its effect on sensory nociceptors. Compression increases conductivity by ensuring full contact between ice and skin, and reduces blood flow and edema to the tissue by strengthening the effect of cold application in reducing tissue temperature. For this reason, it is stated that using cold and pressure together is a more effective method to reduce the level of pain than applying cold alone. It has been reported that pressurized cold application is an important application in reducing the level of pain in patients undergoing total knee prosthesis. There are studies showing that cold application reduces both the level of pain and the level of anxiety.

It has been reported that cold saline application and stress ball application to reduce pain and anxiety during wound debridement in patients with diabetic foot ulcers reduce the level of pain and anxiety during debridement. According to the literature, there are limited studies on reducing pain and anxiety during debridement in diabetic foot ulcer patients. In our planned study, it is envisaged that patients who receive breathing exercises and pressurized cold application will experience a decrease in the level of pain they feel during the debridement process, a decrease in their anxiety levels, and an improvement in their vital signs, and that these study findings will constitute an important data source to reduce the pain and anxiety that occurs during the debridement process. At the same time, it is thought that using it as an alternative to the use of medication to reduce the level of pain during the procedure will make a significant contribution to reducing treatment costs.