Effectiveness of WeChat-Supported Neck Rehabilitation Exercises on Early Recovery After Thyroidectomy

July 13, 2026 updated by: Ling Zhan, Shanghai 6th People's Hospital

Effectiveness of WeChat-Supported Neck Rehabilitation Exercises on Early Recovery After Thyroidectomy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness, safety, and implementation outcomes of a WeChat mini program-supported tele-neck rehabilitation exercises for improving early postoperative neck recovery after thyroidectomy.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

200

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • China
    • Shanghai Municipality
      • Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China, 200233
        • Recruiting
        • Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital
        • Contact:

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Undergoing thyroid surgery
  • Postoperative condition stable, with the attending physician assessing the patient as fit for neck movement
  • Willing to participate in the study, complete scheduled follow-ups, and sign a written informed consent form

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of prior thyroid or neck surgery
  • History of cervical spondylosis, cervical spine surgery, neck trauma, or other conditions affecting neck mobility
  • Postoperative complications rendering the patient unsuitable for neck movement training, such as confirmed recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, chyle leak, or complications requiring reoperation or prolonged drainage, or incision infection
  • Persistent postoperative dizziness or other conditions unsuitable for exercise
  • Unable to use WeChat and lacking assistance from family members

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: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: WeChat-supported tele-rehabilitation group
Participants in the WeChat-supported tele-rehabilitation group received WeChat mini program-supported postoperative neck exercise management.
Behavioral: WeChat-supported Neck Rehabilitation Exercise
WeChat mini program-supported neck exercise management includes daily exercise reminders, exercise check-ins, symptom reporting, automated abnormal symptom prompts, and standardized remote feedback from the research team.
Behavioral: Standardized Postoperative Care and Video Education
This intervention consists of standard clinical postoperative care and discharge education, encompassing wound management, follow-up appointments, and generic neck activity guidelines. Prior to discharge or upon clinical stability, participants undergo a one-time, face-to-face training session with research staff featuring practical exercise demonstrations and behavioral precautions, and are provided with identical instructional video materials for home reference.
Active Comparator: Routine care group
Participants in the routine care group did not receive WeChat mini program-supported postoperative neck exercise management.
Behavioral: Standardized Postoperative Care and Video Education
This intervention consists of standard clinical postoperative care and discharge education, encompassing wound management, follow-up appointments, and generic neck activity guidelines. Prior to discharge or upon clinical stability, participants undergo a one-time, face-to-face training session with research staff featuring practical exercise demonstrations and behavioral precautions, and are provided with identical instructional video materials for home reference.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Neck Pain and Disability Scale (NPDS) Score
Time Frame: Postoperative day 3, week 1, week 2, and month 1
The NPDS is used to evaluate post-surgical neck pain and its multi-dimensional impact on daily living, emotions, work, and social activities. The total score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores representing more severe neck pain and structural functional impairment.
Postoperative day 3, week 1, week 2, and month 1

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Neck Movement Pain Score
Time Frame: Postoperative day 3, week 1, week 2, and month 1
Assessment of localized pain severity provoked during active cervical movements, including neck flexion, extension, left/right lateral flexion, and left/right rotation. Each of the six movements is scored categorically as 0 (painless), 1 (mild pain), or 2 (severe pain), yielding a cumulative score range of 0 to 12. Higher total scores indicate more pronounced motion-induced cervical pain.
Postoperative day 3, week 1, week 2, and month 1
Digital Health App Adherence and Feasibility Metrics
Time Frame: Up to 1 month post-operation
Quantitative measures tracking patient engagement with the digital platform, defined by the digital questionnaire completion rates, loss to follow-up rates, cumulative exercise mini-program check-in days, and consecutive check-in days.
Up to 1 month post-operation
Incidence of Surgical Complications and Intervention-Related Adverse Events
Time Frame: Up to 1 month post-operation
Safety endpoints mapping the frequency and severity of post-surgical complications (e.g., wound bleeding/hematoma, incision dehiscence, surgical site infection) or any adverse events deemed by the investigator to be potentially related to the physical exercise regimen (e.g., severe motion-induced pain exacerbation, acute dizziness).
Up to 1 month post-operation
Cervical Range of Motion (ROM)
Time Frame: Postoperative week 1 and month 1
Objective clinical measurement of neck mobility, quantifying the exact degrees of cervical movement achieved during forward flexion, backward extension, left/right lateral flexion, and left/right rotation, assessed by a blinded investigator.
Postoperative week 1 and month 1

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Shanghai 6th People's Hospital

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)

July 13, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 30, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 13, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 13, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 16, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 16, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 13, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2026-KY-277(K)

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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