Effect of Baduanjin Exercise on Pain, Fatigue, and Quality of Recovery After Abdominal Surgery

November 3, 2026 updated by: Niran Çoban, University of Yalova

The Effect of Baduanjin Exercise on Pain, Fatigue, and Quality of Recovery in Patients Undergoing Abdominal Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effects of Baduanjin exercise on pain, fatigue, fatigue severity, and quality of recovery in patients undergoing abdominal surgery.

A total of 60 participants will be randomly assigned to an intervention group or a control group. Before surgery, participants in the intervention group will receive instruction in Baduanjin exercises and perform the exercises once to learn the technique. After hospital discharge, they will continue the Baduanjin exercise program three days per week for six weeks. Participants in the control group will receive standard hospital care without Baduanjin exercise.

At the end of weeks 3 and 6, pain, fatigue, fatigue severity, and quality of recovery will be assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Fatigue Scale, Fatigue Severity Scale, and Quality of Recovery-40 (QoR-40), respectively. Outcomes will be compared between the intervention and control groups.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study aims to evaluate the effects of Baduanjin exercise on pain, fatigue, fatigue severity, and quality of recovery in patients undergoing abdominal surgery. The study is planned as a randomized, controlled, pretest-posttest experimental study involving 60 patients undergoing abdominal surgery at Gümüşhane State Hospital, Türkiye. Participants will be randomly assigned to an intervention group (n=30) or a control group (n=30). Before surgery, participants in the intervention group will be taught how to perform Baduanjin exercises and will perform the exercises once under instruction to learn the technique. After hospital discharge, participants will continue the Baduanjin exercise program three days per week for six weeks. Participants in the control group will receive standard hospital care without Baduanjin exercise. At the end of weeks 3 and 6, outcomes will be assessed in both groups using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) to measure pain intensity, the Fatigue Scale to assess fatigue, the Fatigue Severity Scale to assess fatigue severity, and the Quality of Recovery-40 (QoR-40) questionnaire to evaluate quality of recovery. The results will be compared between the intervention and control groups to determine the effects of the Baduanjin exercise program on pain, fatigue, fatigue severity, and quality of recovery following abdominal surgery.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

60

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 Contact Backup

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

18 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients aged 18 years and older and younger than 70 years.
  • Patients undergoing abdominal surgery.
  • Patients who voluntarily agree to participate in the study and provide informed consent.
  • Patients with a body mass index (BMI) below 40 kg/m².
  • Patients with a Standardized Mini-Mental State Examination score of 24 or higher.
  • Patients who are able to read and write.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with communication or comprehension difficulties.
  • Patients who receive sedation.
  • Patients who have difficulty understanding or speaking Turkish.
  • Patients with a psychiatric disorder who are receiving medication.

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
No Intervention: Standart care

Participants in this group will receive standard hospital care without Baduanjin exercise. Pain, fatigue, fatigue severity, and quality of recovery will be assessed at the end of weeks 3 and 6 using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Fatigue Scale, Fatigue Severity Scale, and Quality of Recovery-40 (QoR-40), respectively.
Experimental: Baduanjin Exercise Group

Participants in this group will receive instruction in Baduanjin exercises before surgery and will perform the exercises once under instruction to learn the technique. After hospital discharge, participants will continue the Baduanjin exercise program three days per week for six weeks. Pain, fatigue, fatigue severity, and quality of recovery will be assessed at the end of weeks 3 and 6 using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Fatigue Scale, Fatigue Severity Scale, and Quality of Recovery-40 (QoR-40), respectively.
Other: Baduanjin Exercise

Participants in the intervention group will be taught Baduanjin exercises before surgery and will perform the exercises once under instruction to learn the technique. After hospital discharge, participants will continue the Baduanjin exercise program three days per week for six weeks. Pain, fatigue, fatigue severity, and quality of recovery will be assessed at the end of weeks 3 and 6 using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Fatigue Scale, Fatigue Severity Scale, and Quality of Recovery-40 (QoR-40), respectively.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The Effect of Baduanjin on Pain
Time Frame: At the end of weeks 3 and 6 after hospital discharge.

Visual Analog Scale (VAS): The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) is a commonly used tool for assessing pain. It consists of a 10-cm (100-mm) line ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst imaginable pain). In this study, the VAS will be used to assess pain in patients undergoing abdominal surgery at the end of weeks 3 and 6 after hospital discharge to evaluate the effect of Baduanjin exercise on pain.
At the end of weeks 3 and 6 after hospital discharge.
The Effect of Baduanjin on Fatigue
Time Frame: At the end of weeks 3 and 6 after hospital discharge.

Fatigue Scale (FS): The Fatigue Scale was developed by Beurskens et al. in 2000 to assess chronic fatigue. The scale consists of 20 items and evaluates fatigue over the previous two weeks across four dimensions: subjective fatigue perception, concentration, motivation, and physical activity. The Turkish version was validated by Ergin et al. in 2009. The total score ranges from 20 to 140, with higher scores indicating greater chronic fatigue. In this study, the Fatigue Scale will be used to assess fatigue in patients undergoing abdominal surgery at the end of weeks 3 and 6 after hospital discharge to evaluate the effect of Baduanjin exercise on fatigue.
At the end of weeks 3 and 6 after hospital discharge.
The Effect of Baduanjin Exercise on Fatigue Severity
Time Frame: At the end of weeks 3 and 6 after hospital discharge.

Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS): The Fatigue Severity Scale was developed by Krupp et al. in 1989 to assess fatigue severity, initially in patients with multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus. It consists of nine items assessing the subjective severity of fatigue during the previous week. Each item is rated on a seven-point scale, and the total score is calculated as the arithmetic mean of the item scores. Higher scores indicate greater fatigue severity, and a score of approximately 4 or above generally suggests substantial fatigue. The Turkish validity and reliability study was conducted by Gencay Can et al. in 2012. In this study, the Fatigue Severity Scale will be used to assess fatigue severity in patients undergoing abdominal surgery at the end of weeks 3 and 6 after hospital discharge to evaluate the effect of Baduanjin exercise on fatigue severity.
At the end of weeks 3 and 6 after hospital discharge.
The Effect of Baduanjin Exercise on Quality of Recovery
Time Frame: At the end of weeks 3 and 6 after hospital discharge.

Quality of Recovery-40 (QoR-40): The Quality of Recovery-40 (QoR-40) was developed by Myles et al. in 2000 and its Turkish validity and reliability were evaluated by Karaman et al. in 2014. The questionnaire consists of 40 items across five dimensions: emotional state, physical comfort, patient support, physical independence, and pain. Each item is rated on a five-point Likert scale, and the total score ranges from 40 to 200. Higher scores indicate better postoperative physical and emotional well-being, whereas lower scores indicate poorer quality of recovery. In this study, the QoR-40 will be used to assess quality of recovery in patients undergoing abdominal surgery at the end of weeks 3 and 6 after hospital discharge to evaluate the effect of Baduanjin exercise on postoperative recovery.
At the end of weeks 3 and 6 after hospital discharge.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Yalova

Collaborators

Gümüşhane Universıty

Investigators

  • Study Director: Nurşen Kulakaç, Assoc. Prof., Gümüşhane Universıty

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 (Estimated)

October 30, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 20, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 20, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 24, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 24, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

October 30, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 9, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 3, 2026

Last Verified

November 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • NCNK

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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