The Effect of Kegel Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises on Urinary Retention, Pain, and Comfort Levels in Patients After Lumbar Disc Herniation Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

April 22, 2026 updated by: Büşra Demirci, Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi
This study was planned as a randomized controlled trial to investigate the effects of Kegel pelvic floor muscle exercises on urinary retention and comfort levels of patients after lumbar disc herniation surgery.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

Postoperative urinary retention is the inability to urinate despite having a full bladder after surgery. It is a relatively common complication of both outpatient and inpatient procedures. Most cases are transient and are managed by temporarily emptying the bladder with bladder catheterization.

Studies in the literature report that transient postoperative urinary retention is common after cervical and lumbar spine surgery procedures. This situation is of great importance in terms of healthcare services, as it can increase both the length of hospital stay and the cost.

Kegel pelvic floor muscle exercises involve the repeated contraction and relaxation of the muscles that form part of the pelvic floor. With these exercises, pelvic floor blood circulation can be increased, pelvic floor muscle tension can be increased, and the contraction of the relaxed bladder can be stimulated indirectly by repeated contraction and relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles, and urine output can be achieved. Therefore, we think that these exercises, which are safe, cost-effective exercises that can be easily applied by healthcare personnel, and patient comfort among nursing practices to improve perioperative results and functional status, will have an effect in preventing urinary retention.

There are no experimental studies in the literature evaluating the effect of Kegel exercises applied after lumbar disc herniation surgery on urinary retention. Therefore, this study was planned to be conducted in patients who will undergo lumbar disc herniation surgery.

This study was planned as a single-center prospective randomized controlled experimental study. After obtaining verbal and written consent from the patients before surgery, the study will be conducted with various data collection forms.

These forms; Patient Information Form, Postoperative Data Collection Form, Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) to determine the pain level of the patients and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) to evaluate the comfort level. Patients will be randomized. Group I will be the Kegel pelvic floor muscle exercise group (n=29), Group II will be the control group (n=29). It is planned to measure the urinary retention and comfort levels of both groups in the postoperative period.

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 (Actual)

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.
58

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 Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • University of Health Sciences
      • Ankara, University of Health Sciences, Turkey (Türkiye)
        • Büşra Demirci

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Agreeing to participate in the study
  • Over 18 years of age
  • No communication barrier
  • Having undergone lumbar disc herniation surgery under general anesthesia
  • Being immobile for the first 8 hours postoperatively
  • Not having a urinary catheter inserted during the intraoperative period

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Refusal to participate in the study
  • Previous urinary disorders/symptoms (such as Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia)
  • Spinal trauma, preoperative neurological disorder
  • Patients with preoperative catheterization

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.
Experimental: Kegel Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercise Group
Kegel exercises will be performed by the researcher within the first 8 hours after being taken to the clinic room to perform the Kegel pelvic floor muscle exercises while in the supine position. Urinary retention and comfort level of patients will be evaluated after surgery.
Other: Kegel Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercise Group
After the surgery, the patients will be taken to the clinic room in a supine position and the researcher will perform the Kegel pelvic floor muscle exercises three times at the 1st, 4th and 7th hours within the first 8 hours after the patients are taken to the clinic room.
No Intervention: Control Group
Urinary retention and comfort level of patients will be evaluated after 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
Effect of Kegel pelvic floor muscle exercises on urinary retention of patients after lumbar disc herniation surgery.
Time Frame: After completing Kegel pelvic floor muscle exercises in the first 8 hours after surgery.
Kegel pelvic floor muscle exercises will affect the urinary retention of patients after lumbar disc herniation surgery. Urinary retention will be evaluated using the Postoperative Data Collection Form developed by the researchers based on the literature. This form includes items assessing signs and symptoms of urinary retention within the first 8 hours postoperatively, such as pressure in the lower abdomen, pain in the lower abdomen, feeling of restlessness, and desire to urinate within 8 hours. Each symptom is assessed separately using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS).
After completing Kegel pelvic floor muscle exercises in the first 8 hours after surgery.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Effect of Kegel pelvic floor muscle exercises on comfort level after lumbar disc herniation surgery
Time Frame: After completing Kegel pelvic floor muscle exercises in the first 8 hours after surgery.
Kegel pelvic floor muscle exercises will affect comfort level of patients after lumbar disc herniation surgery. The comfort level of the patients will be evaluated with VAS. VAS is used to convert some unmeasurable values into numerical values. VAS is a horizontal line with a length of 10 cm. According to VAS, 0 is the lowest level and 10 is the highest level. Patients will be asked to mark these levels on the 10 cm line.
After completing Kegel pelvic floor muscle exercises in the first 8 hours 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.
Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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.
August 14, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

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.
April 22, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

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.
April 22, 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).
August 14, 2024

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.
August 27, 2024

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.
August 29, 2024

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.
April 28, 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.
April 22, 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.
April 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.
  • 15151515

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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