Application of the Concept of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation in Trunk Control in Patients Admitted to the ICU. (PNF)

May 18, 2026 updated by: Jose Roberto Lapa e Silva, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Effects of Applying the Concept of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation in Trunk Control in Patients Admitted to the ICU: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Muscle weakness acquired in the ICU (FAUTI) is related to the functional decline of patients admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). For better follow-up, scales such as (Chelsea Critical Care Physical Assessment) CPAx and (Medical Research Council) MRC help to identify early the muscle and functional impairment of these patients. Early mobilization aims to minimize these effects and therefore the search to reach the highest mobility milestone is constant bedside sitting (BSS) is an important milestone in recovery, associated with better functional results when there is good trunk control, as the coordinated activation of muscles in this region is essential for stabilization and reaching higher postures. The physiotherapeutic approach focused on the components of the activities and on the patient's participation is crucial, with the therapeutic option of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF). To evaluate the effect of exercises based on the PNF concept through the Test Control Trunk (TCT) on the trunk balance of patients admitted to the ICU. This is a randomized, crossover clinical trial, carried out at the Pedro Ernesto University Hospital from June 2026 to June 2027. Adults hospitalized for more than 48 hours who meet the inclusion criteria will be screened. and clinical evaluation. The study consists of two blocks of pre- and post-crossover evaluations, conducted by the same blind evaluator. Patients will undergo assessments on the first day of BSS, including assessment of the trunk with TCT and assessment of diaphragm mobility and thickness by ultrasound, before and after intervention (PNF or conventional exercises). Between assessments, there will be a 3-hour rest period.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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

This is a randomized, crossover clinical trial to be conducted in the general ICU of the Pedro Ernesto University Hospital from December 2025 to December 2026. Patients from the general ICU will be recruited and included are those over 18 years of age, with an ICU stay greater than 48 hours, sitting at the bedside for the first time as indicated by the physiotherapy team, a RASS score greater than or equal to -2 and less than or equal to 1, a score less than or equal to 12 points on the "balance in sitting position" item in the TCT, and a score less than or equal to 2 on item 3 "sitting without support". Patients will be randomized for clinical evaluation followed by two evaluation blocks (pre- and post-washout). All evaluations will be performed by the same blinded evaluator. A screening evaluation will be performed to select individuals according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Patients will undergo the following assessments on the first day of SBL: trunk assessment using the Trunk Test Control (TCT), assessment of diaphragmatic mobility and thickness via ultrasound, before and after the intervention (PNF or conventional). A 3-hour washout period will be considered, during which no motor interventions will be performed by the physiotherapy team on the patients, only care related to the medical and nursing teams. The first block with these three assessments will be performed in the morning by a blinded evaluator, followed by a three-hour washout period before repeating all assessments in the second block in the afternoon, but this time evaluating the effect of the other intervention (PNF or conventional). Participants will be randomly selected and assigned to one of the two groups through the random.org website by a professional independent of the evaluator. In addition, general information recorded in medical records will be collected, such as demographic data, general assessments, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score (SOFA), level of consciousness using the Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS), Glasgow Coma Scale, Chelsea Critical Care Physical Assessment Tool (CPAx), and Medical Research Council (MRC) functional scale. All demographic, clinical, and ultrasound data will be incorporated into an attached assessment form.

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.
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 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 Locations

  • Brazil
    • Rio de Janeiro
      • Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20551-030

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

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Over 18 years of age
  • ICU stay greater than or equal 48 hours;
  • RASS scale score greater than or equal to -2 and less than or equal to 1;
  • TCT score less than or equal to 12 points on the "balance in sitting position" score less than or equal to 2 on item 3 "sitting without support".

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients in a coma, with spinal cord instability, metastases, and bone lesions;
  • Neuromuscular or neurological diseases
  • Discharge from the general ICU before SBL
  • Proportional care phase 3;
  • Readmissions to the general ICU;

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Double

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: standard physiotherapy
This group will undergo conventional physiotherapy according to institutional protocol. Rehabilitation will be geared towards achieving daily motor milestones (sitting on the edge of the bed, sitting in a chair, standing up, and walking) according to the CPAx scale. We will record whether patients achieved any milestones during their stay in the ICU and the number of days required to achieve them.
Other: Standard physiotherapy
This group will undergo conventional physiotherapy according to institutional protocol.
Experimental: Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF)
Patients will undergo a protocol that respects the principles and procedures of PNF, as well as the stages of motor control model, such as: mobility, stability, and mobility over stability. Activities will begin in bed and conclude in the sitting over of the edge. It will begin with exercises in the right and left lateral decubitus positions: solid flexion and solid extension. Next, trunk stability exercises will be performed in a seated position at the edge of the bed.
Other: Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF)
From its beginnings, PNF has successfully integrated many of the concepts of contemporary neurorehabilitation interventions. The Philosophy and Basic Principles of PNF, together with the specific spiral and diagonal patterns, make up the cornerstone of PNF. PNF also includes motor learning and functional retention of newly learned activities with the repetition of a specific demand; the use of the developmental progression of motor behavior that enables patients to create and re-create strategies of efficient functional movement; and the biomechanical and behavioral analysis of motor control. All activities within PNF intervention are directed towards a functional goal and are relative to the environment in which the goal is to be achieved.

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
Trunk Control
Time Frame: Day 1
Trunk stability assessment will be performed on the first day of sitting at the bedside, both before and after treatment, for both groups. The Trunk Control Test (TCT) will be used. The TCT is a test used as a predictor of return to walking within 18 weeks, when the patient is able to obtain 50 points or more within 6 weeks. The test examines four simple aspects of trunk movement. The patient begins the test in the supine position, is asked to roll to both sides, then sit up from the lying position, and finally maintain a balanced position on the edge of the bed with their feet off the ground for a minimum of 30 seconds. In each aspect, the patient can receive a score of 0, 12, or 25. The total value is the sum of the four aspects evaluated, totaling 100 points. Regarding balance in the seated position, a score of 12 is considered when the patient needs to lean on something to maintain the position, and 0 when they are unable to maintain the posture (COLLIN; WADE, 1990).
Day 1

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
Functional Assesment
Time Frame: 6 months
The CPAx measures physical morbidity in the intensive care population, reflecting the functional capacity of these individuals, divided into 10 commonly assessed physical ability components, each graded on a six-point Guttman scale, from complete dependence to independence. It comprises assessments of: respiratory function, cough, bed mobility, transition from supine to sitting, dynamics of the sitting position, balance while standing, transition from sitting to standing, transfer from bed to chair, stepping, and handgrip strength. The higher the score, the greater the patient's functional capacity.
6 months
Length of stay in the ICU
Time Frame: 28-day interval.
Number of days the patient is hospitalized in the ICU.
28-day interval.
Diaphragmatic thickness
Time Frame: Day 1
Diaphragmatic thickness and excursion measurements will be collected at two times: before the first SBL and after physiotherapy treatment in both groups, in which the patient must be positioned in dorsal decubitus with the head elevated at an angle between 30° and 45° for both assessments. The assessment of diaphragmatic thickness will be performed through the right hemidiaphragm using a linear transducer, in B-mode, positioned perpendicular to the rib cage, between the 8th and 9th intercostal spaces, on the anterior axillary line and mid-axillary line. The muscle apposition zone will be observed, 0.5 to 2 cm below the costophrenic angle, and the image will be captured between two acoustic windows below the apposition zone.
Day 1
Diaphragmatic excursion
Time Frame: Day 1
Diaphragmatic excursion measurements will be collected at two times: before the first SBL and after physiotherapy treatment in both groups, in which the patient must be positioned in dorsal decubitus with the head elevated at an angle between 30° and 45° for both assessments. The assessment of diaphragmatic mobility, a convex transducer (2.0-5.5 MHz) will be used in M-mode, positioned in the anterior subcostal region on the right between the midclavicular and anterior axillary lines. The reference value for mobility is 1 to 2 cm.
Day 1

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.
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Hospital Universitario Pedro Ernesto

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 (Estimated)

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.
June 1, 2026

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.
June 1, 2027

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.
December 31, 2028

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).
April 29, 2026

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.
May 7, 2026

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.
May 13, 2026

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.
May 22, 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.
May 18, 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.
May 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.
  • PNF 100685

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

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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