Resident Posture Biofeedback Study

Not Applicable

Recruiting

• Conditions: Healthy; Postural; Strain
• Interventions: Device: Posture Biofeedback Device

• Registration Number: NCT06564519
• Lead Sponsor: Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Brief Summary

While a majority of surgical ergonomic studies have been evaluating attending surgeons, few have evaluated surgical ergonomics within the surgical resident. Biofeedback devices can be partnered with education and geared towards surgical residents to decrease current and future musculoskeletal disorders, which may in turn lead to longer and more fulfilling careers.

Detailed Description

This study aims to use a commercially-available posture training device for surgical residents that sends biofeedback in the form of a gentle vibration if posture has deviated from the upright (neutral) position for a long period of time. For residents performing minimally-invasive procedures with a laparoscopic approach, our overarching hypothesis is that the time spent in a non-upright position will be less after using the posture biofeedback device compared with before. The study hypothesizes that residents will report fewer complaints related to musculoskeletal pain after wearing the posture training device.

Residents completing general surgery rotations will be recruited and wear a biofeedback device for about four weeks while performing laparoscopic procedures. Posture data from the device and survey data in the form of the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) will be collected and analyzed.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2024-08-19
• Study First Submitted QC: 2024-08-19
• Study First Posted: 2024-08-21
• Status Verified: 2024-09
• Study Start: 2024-09-26
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-09-27
• Last Update Posted: 2024-09-30
• Primary Completion: 2025-05
• Study Completion: 2025-06

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 12

Inclusion Criteria

• Surgical residents with surgical experience of at least one year (Postgraduate year 2-5)
• Completing a one-month rotation at the study sites within the general surgery department during the study period

Exclusion Criteria

• Clinically diagnosed inflammatory musculoskeletal disorders per self-report
• History of orthopedic surgery in the last six months per self-report

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Residents	Posture Biofeedback Device	This is a single arm study. All Resident participants will use the posture biofeedback device.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Time spent in upright vs non-upright position	week 1 to week 4]	proportion (percentage) of time (minutes) in the upright position relative to the non-upright position during laparoscopic procedures

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in Self-reported musculoskeletal pain score	baseline to week 4	Complaints related to musculoskeletal pain assessed using the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) - measures self-reported musculoskeletal discomfort for all body segments. 1 = low (score 1-2) 2 = moderate (score 3-4) 3 = high (score 5-7) 4 = very high (score 8-10 - higher scores meaning more discomfort

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Wake Forest University Health Sciences; 🇺🇸 Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States