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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.