Surgeon Core-strengthening Program as a Modifier for Exertion Associated With Vaginal Surgery
- Conditions
- Musculoskeletal PainMusculoskeletal Injury
- Interventions
- Other: Execise GroupOther: Control Group
- Registration Number
- NCT06525701
- Lead Sponsor
- Loyola University
- Brief Summary
Work-related musculoskeletal pain and injury is a growing concern in surgery. Vaginal surgery has unique ergonomic risks, but no studies have addressed the potential for an exercise regimen to reduce physical strain by vaginal surgeons
- Detailed Description
Surgical ergonomics is a burgeoning field, spurred by the recognition of the high prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal pain and injury in practicing surgeons including obstetrician/gynecologists. Surgery is often a demanding physical task, and the muscles and joints that are stressed vary by the surgical approach. Vaginal surgery has unique ergonomic challenges, particularly for assistants who may need to laterally bend their torsos to visualize the surgical field while still holding retractors. This is often a compromising physical position for the back, the shoulders, and sometimes the neck which increases the risk of acute or chronic musculoskeletal injury. The risk of injury can be thought of as a discrepancy between the demands of the task and the individual's physical capabilities. Surgeons' injury risk may be decreased if their physical capabilities can be improved through exercise. Most existing publications on surgical ergonomics have focused on raising awareness and on environmental changes such as optimizing surgeon posture during the case or introducing micro-breaks and stretching. Few publications have assessed a structured exercise program with the goal of decreasing surgeon pain or fatigue during and after surgery. To our knowledge, no studies have addressed this in vaginal surgery.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- RECRUITING
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 20
Participant: ob/gyn resident or urology resident or urogyn fellow or urogyn attending Case: vaginal prolapse surgery >2 hours in length
Participant:
- Actively in physical therapy
- Joint surgery or joint injury within last 12 weeks
- Pregnant
- Less than 6 weeks postpartum
Case:
- Vaginal surgery <2 hours in length
- Non-prolapse vaginal surgery
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Exercise Group Control Group Participants randomized to the exercise group will be asked to perform the SCORE workout two times each week for 4 weeks prior to their urogynecology rotation and for 4 weeks during the rotation. Control Group Execise Group No additional exercises or tasks are requested of control participants. Control group participants will perform or not perform exercise as they otherwise would outside of the study Exercise Group Execise Group Participants randomized to the exercise group will be asked to perform the SCORE workout two times each week for 4 weeks prior to their urogynecology rotation and for 4 weeks during the rotation. Control Group Control Group No additional exercises or tasks are requested of control participants. Control group participants will perform or not perform exercise as they otherwise would outside of the study
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method The effect of a core-strengthening program on surgeons' physical exertion during and after vaginal prolapse surgery using the Borg rating of perceived exertion (Borg CR10). To determine the effect of a core-strengthening program on surgeon 8-12 weeks The effect of a core-strengthening program on surgeons' physical exertion during and after vaginal prolapse surgery as measured by the Borg Category Ratio (CR-10). The Borg Category Ratio scale is a self-reported tool that describes level of exertion and ranges from 0-10 where larger numbers represent greater exertion.
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method To measure the effect of a core-strengthening program on surgeons' pain during and after vaginal prolapse surgery using the PROMIS Pain Intensity-Short Form (PI-SF) and body diagrams. 8-12 weeks • PROMIS Pain Intensity-Short Form (PI-SF): The raw score ranges from 3-15 where higher scores indicate more pain. Raw scores are converted to t-scores where a t-score of 50 represents the average in the United States population.
To measure objective and subjective change in core strength after completion of the core-strengthening program using the Core Score and Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I). 8-12 weeks • Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I): Lower Patient Global Impression of Improvement scores indicate more improvement. PGI-I ranges from 1 ("very much better") to 7 ("very much worse").
To describe the execise habits and activity level in a populationa of vaginal surgeons using activity tracker data and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. 8-12 weeks • International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF): Participant responses on time spent walking, doing moderate exercise, and doing vigorous exercise are first compared to a rubric for the categorical score. The categorical score ranges 1-3 where 1 is "inactive" and 3 is "health-enhancing physical activity". Participant responses are also used to calculate the weekly metabolic equivalent (MET) minutes where a higher number indicates more time spent being physically active.
To describe the baseline core strength in a population of vaginal surgeons using the validated Core Score 8-12 weeks • Core Score: The Core Score ranges from 0-12 where higher scores indicate better performance on core-related exercises.
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
Loyola University Medical Center
🇺🇸Maywood, Illinois, United States