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Impact of Core Muscle Training on Incisional Hernia and Pain After Abdominal Surgery

NCT03808584 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 588

Last updated 2026-05-05

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The current practice to avoid incisional hernia, one of the most frequent complications following abdominal surgery, is to minimize core muscle activity in the postoperative phase. However, there is no evidence to support the association of core muscle activity and increased incidence of incisional hernia. On the contrary, it is likely that reduced physical activity could lead to physical deconditioning, chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP), and sarcopenia. The investigators will conduct a prospective multicentric randomized clinical trial to compare standard of care to core muscle exercises targeting the abdominal muscles immediately postsurgery. The principle hypothesis is that neither specific exercises of core muscles before and after surgery nor physical restriction alter the incidence of incisional hernias. Secondly the impact of postoperative rehabilitation on CPSP and sarcopenia will be assessed.

Conditions

  • Hernia Incisional
  • Exercise

Interventions

OTHER

Physiotherapy

4 specific core muscle exercises, targeting abdominal muscles, to be performed daily from postoperative day one to 2 months postsurgery.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Guido Beldi, MD · Department for visceral surgery, University Hospital Bern, Inselspital, Switzerland

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2019-05-20
Primary Completion
2030-12-31
Completion
2030-12-31

Countries

  • Germany
  • Switzerland

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT03808584 on ClinicalTrials.gov