Clinical trial · Interventional
Effectiveness of Two Exercises in Preventing Lower-Limb Lymphedema After Gynecological Cancer Surgery
Effectiveness of Two Exercises in Preventing Lower-Limb Lymphedema After Gynecological Cancer Surgery: a Randomized Controlled Trial
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
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.
Conditions
Conditions (3)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Gynecologic Cancer | Malignant Female Reproductive System Neoplasm | ALIAS | 0.90 |
| Lymphedema of Leg | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home-based exercise | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Home-based resistance exercise
- description
- 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.
- interventionNames
- Other: Home-based exercise
- type
- PLACEBO_COMPARATOR
- label
- Non-resistance exercise
- description
- 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.
- interventionNames
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- Female
- Minimum age
- 20 Years
- Maximum age
- 80 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * women who planned to undergo gynecological cancer surgery with lymphadenectomy * at least 20 years old Exclusion Criteria: * heart failure * renal failure * cardiovascular accident * abscess or infection in legs * psychological disorders
References
Publications (1)
- DERIVEDHsu YY, Lin CF, Liang PC, Nguyen TTB, Hsu KF. Effects of resistance exercise on reducing the risk of lower-limb lymphedema after gynecological cancer surgery. Asia Pac J Oncol Nurs. 2025 Jul 14;12:100756. doi: 10.1016/j.apjon.2025.100756. eCollection 2025 Dec. PMID 40821966