Effect of Preoperative Mobility Device Training on Postoperative Fall Incidence

March 10, 2026 updated by: Ashish Shah, University of Alabama at Birmingham
The purpose of this study is to determine whether preoperative mobility device training is beneficial in reducing incidence of postoperative falls in patients undergoing elective foot and ankle surgery requiring a postoperative period of no weight-bearing.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Most of the surgeries involving the foot and ankle require non-weight bearing status post operatively. Patients use crutches, walker or knee scooters during that period to avoid weight bearing. However, using any mobility device(s) requires training to avoid falls. Most of the falls happen during early post-operative period after any surgery. The usage of assistive mobility device(s) increases the risk of falls. Some studies have shown physical therapy and training to decrease this risk of falls. Physical training for usage of assistive devices can be done either preoperatively or post operatively. When training is done postoperatively, it may increase the risk of fall due to pain, usage of narcotic drugs, especially in older patients due to lack of muscle power. To prevent these increased risks, the training can be done preoperatively. However, the role of preoperative training regarding usage of assistive devices has not been emphasized in the literature. Hence, the aim of our current study is to evaluate the difference between preoperative training and no training before surgery on the use of mobility device(s).

250 patients will be enrolled in the study. Each participant will be stratified by randomization into either Group 1 or Group 2. Patients in Group 1 will receive training on the mobility device(s) during their standard pre-operative care whereas patients in Group 2 will not receive this training. This training is not a component of routine, standard pre-operative care. Each group will include 125 patients.

Working in conjunction with University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Foot and Ankle Division of the Orthopaedic department, volunteers meeting inclusion criteria will be identified in the outpatient clinic setting. After thorough discussion of risks and benefits, potential volunteers will be consented for participation in the study. The volunteer's demographic data will be obtained including gender, age, and race. The patient will then undergo the "pre-operative mobility device(s) training" during the pre-operative physical therapy visit, if they are randomized to Group 1. Patients in Group 2 will not receive this training. The preoperative training will not incur any additional cost to the patient. Patients in both groups will then undergo standard operative care. During routine 2-week and 6-week follow-up visits, they will be asked questions from a questionnaire that will assess the number and details of any fall(s) they may have experienced.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
250

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • age 18 and older
  • undergoing elective unilateral foot/ankle surgery
  • requiring a period of post-operative non-weight-bearing or partial-weight-bearing period as advised by the operating surgeon.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • less than 18 years of age
  • wheelchair-bound patients
  • patients with history of previous use of post-operative mobility device(s)
  • patients with ankle fractures, patients with previously diagnosed condition(s) with cognitive, balance, mobility impairment
  • patients undergoing bilateral surgery
  • patients requiring follow ups longer than 6 weeks

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Mobility Device Training Group
Patients receiving preoperative mobility device(s) training before surgery
Other: Preoperative mobility device(s) training
Patients in Group 1 (the intervention, that is the mobility device training group group) will receive training on the mobility device(s) with the physical therapy visit during their standard pre-operative care.
No Intervention: No Mobility Device Training Group
Patients not receiving preoperative mobility device(s) training before surgery

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of falls in the post-operative period after foot and ankle surgery
Time Frame: two weeks before surgery to six weeks after surgery
Number of falls in the post-operative period after foot and ankle surgery
two weeks before surgery to six weeks after surgery

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Ashish B Shah, MD, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 9, 2019

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 26, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 26, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 28, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 12, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 10, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB-300002190-001
  • 021-13307-E (Other Grant/Funding Number: American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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