Effectiveness of Two Exercises in Preventing Lower-Limb Lymphedema After Gynecological Cancer Surgery

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

60 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2017-01-31

Study Completion Date

2019-12-31

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

Background:

Lower-limb lymphedema is one of the complications after gynecological cancer surgery. Patients with lymphedema are more likely to limit their daily life activities and become inactive, leading to negative influences on quality of life. Although studies on resistance exercise primarily focus on the upper limb, there scarce evidence of the application of this exercise to the lower limb has been reported.

Objective:

This study will aim to compare the effect of resistance and non-resistance exercises in the prevention of lower-limb lymphedema, increasing self-management, and improving the quality of life of the patients following gynecological cancer surgery.

Design:

A single-blinded randomized controlled trial.

Settings and participants:

Sixty patients with gynecological cancer will recruit from a gynecological ward and will be randomly assigned to the elastic-band resistance exercise group (experimental group, n = 30) or conventional non-resistance exercise group (control group, n = 30).

Methods:

Both groups will receive one-to-one training about upper and lower limb exercises within 1 week after surgery. Each exercise will consist of a 5-minute warm-up session, a 20-minute main session, and a relaxing session. Patients in the experimental group will use an elastic band and change the elastic band from low to medium resistance. Patients in the experimental and control groups will receive guidelines from a booklet and video about elastic-band resistance and conventional non-resistance exercise, respectively. All patients will be evaluated at three-time points: T0-within 1 week after surgery and before the intervention, T1-10-11 weeks after surgery and within 1 week after intervention, T2-3 months after intervention using Lymph-ICF-LL scale, EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire, limb circumference measurements, and lymph self-management questionnaire. The Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, the Mann-Whitney U-test, and the Generalized Estimating Equations will be used for the statistical analysis of the data.

Anticipated Outcomes: Findings from this study could provide a reference for home-based resistance exercise guidelines and be integrated into the care of activities for women following gynecological surgery with lower-limb lymphoedema.

Related Clinical Trials

Explore similar clinical trials based on study characteristics and research focus.

The Effectiveness of Anti-resistance Exercise on Lower Limb Lymphoedema Among Gynecological Cancer

NCT05003973

Gynecological Cancer Lower Limb Lymphedema

UNKNOWN NA

Randomized Trial of Exercise on Lower Extremity Edema After Lymphadenectomy in Gynecologic Cancer

NCT01849224

Gynecologic Cancer

UNKNOWN PHASE3

Effect of Early Compression and Exercise on Lymphedema Incidence in Patients With Gynecological Cancer

NCT02966327

Genital Neoplasms, Female Lymphedema

COMPLETED NA

Diaphragmatic Exercises and Fascial Release Techniques on the Treatment of Lower Extremity Lymphedema

NCT05483569

Lower Extremity Lymphedema

UNKNOWN NA

Effects of Selected Exercise Program on Microcirculation and Lymphedema in Postmastectomy Patients

NCT05286489

Mastectomy; Lymphedema

UNKNOWN NA

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

1. Participants and setting Participants were recruited from a gynecological ward of a medical center in southern Taiwan. The following criteria were used to determine who was eligible to participate in this study: (1) women who planned to undergo gynecological cancer surgery with lymphadenectomy, and (2) at least 20 years old. Exclusion criteria for the participants were: (1) heart failure; (2) renal failure; (3) cardiovascular accident; (4) abscess or infection in legs; or (5) psychological disorders.
2. Sample size G-power software version 3.1.9 was applied to estimate the sample size. The sample size was determined based on a previous study. Given an α-level of 0.05, an effect size of 0.37, a power of 0.80, and considering a 15% possibility of participants' dropping out, the minimum required sample size was estimated as 30 participants in each group.
3. Randomization and Blinding Eligible participants were randomly assigned into either an experimental group or a control group using a randomized block design with a ratio of 2:2. A research staff who was not involved in data collection generated in advance the random allocation sequence with 15 blocks. Each block contributed to the allocation of 2 participants in the experimental group (anti-resistance exercise) and 2 participants in the intervention group. Sequential numbers which assigned to two groups were generated and placed in sealed opaque envelopes.
4. Data analysis Data were managed and analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics were applied to summarize the characteristics of the participants and study outcomes. Chi-square tests (or Fisher's exact test) and Mann-Whitney U-test were applied for the group comparisons in demographic data and outcome variables and at baseline. The Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) were used to assess for any differential changes in the outcome variables by testing the time effect, group effect, and group\*time effect with p \< 0.05 as a level of significance.
5. Ethical considerations Before data collection, the hospital's Institutional Review Board of the primary investigator reviewed and approved this study (IRB No. B-ER-105-444).

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Lymphedema of Leg Gynecologic Cancer Exercise

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Home-based resistance exercise

The experimental group participated in a home-based exercise program for eight weeks, namely elastic-band resistance exercise. Participants were forwarded to the next exercise session every two weeks and completed the exercise program within eight weeks. The program included upper and lower limb exercises. The home-based exercise program contained four sessions, namely: warm-up, start-up, vigorous, and reinforcement sessions. Participants received guidelines from a booklet and video about elastic-band resistance.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Home-based exercise

Intervention Type OTHER

Eight weeks of home-based exercise programs

Non-resistance exercise

The control group participated in an exercise program for eight weeks, namely conventional non-resistance exercise, which contained four sessions: warm-up, start-up, vigorous, and reinforcement. Participants were forwarded to the next exercise session every two weeks and completed the exercise program within eight weeks. Participants in the control group received guidelines from a booklet and video about the conventional non-resistance exercise.

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR