An interventional study of Structured exercise in Postoperative Complications, sponsored by Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to female participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-02-27.
Sponsored by Weill Medical College of Cornell University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
The purpose of this study is to test whether or not activity restrictions after a cesarean section are warranted and if exercise can improve postpartum wellness. This research study is being done because there is no science-based evidence to support postpartum activity restrictions after cesarean sections.
Participants will be randomly placed into one of the following study groups:
1,233 studies on the registry are indexed under Postoperative Complications; 292 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 200 is above the median of 119 across 689 interventional studies indexed under Postoperative Complications.
Browse Postoperative Complications studies →Weill Medical College of Cornell University is the lead sponsor of 867 studies on the registry; 160 are open to participants now.
Of its 119 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 91 (76%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Exclusion Criteria:
Standard instructions: activity restrictions, including no strenuous exercise, sexual intercourse, or lifting objects greater than 25 pounds for 6 weeks or until evaluation at the 6 week postpartum visit
Study group: Structured 10 week exercise protocol
Behavioral: Structured exercise
The exercise program will be designed by a physical therapist (Ms. Patricia Ladis) who specializes in postnatal rehabilitation and will be supervised by sports medicine physicians from the Hospital For Special Surgery (HSS). The structured program will include approximately 10 minutes of core muscle group exercises. They will begin this program 2 weeks after their cesarean section. The study group will perform these exercises 5 times per week.
Change in wellness
As measured by scores in the completion of the PROMIS GSF assessment. The PROMIS GSF assessment uses a method of scoring requiring responses to each item for each participant. Each question usually has five response options ranging in value from one to five. All questions must be answered in order to produce a valid score using the scoring tables. A score of 50 is the average for the United States general population with a standard deviation of 10. A higher PROMIS T-score represents more of the concept being measured. For negatively-worded concepts like Anxiety, a T-score of 60 is one SD worse than average. By comparison, an Anxiety T-score of 40 is one SD better than average. However, for positively-worded concepts like Physical Function-Mobility, a T-score of 60 is one SD better than average while a T-score of 40 is one SD worse than average.
Time frame: 2, 6, and 10 weeks
Change in incidence of post operative complications
As measured by number of subjects presenting with any of the following: * Wound separation, dehiscence, hernia etc. * Re-hospitalization for wound concerns * Infection * Increased pain, abdominal/core muscle injury * Less breastmilk production (adequate-inadequate, Likert scale 1-5) * Urinary incontinence * Improved fitness
Time frame: 2, 6, and 10 weeks
Change in incidence of depression, anxiety, and decreased physical functioning
As measured by scores in the completion of the PROMIS GSF assessment. The PROMIS GSF assessment uses a method of scoring requiring responses to each item for each participant. Each question usually has five response options ranging in value from one to five. All questions must be answered in order to produce a valid score using the scoring tables. A score of 50 is the average for the United States general population with a standard deviation of 10. A higher PROMIS T-score represents more of the concept being measured. For negatively-worded concepts like Anxiety, a T-score of 60 is one SD worse than average. By comparison, an Anxiety T-score of 40 is one SD better than average. However, for positively-worded concepts like Physical Function-Mobility, a T-score of 60 is one SD better than average while a T-score of 40 is one SD worse than average.
Time frame: 2, 6, and 10 weeks
Plan to share: No
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This study is completed, as verified in Feb 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Weill Medical College of Cornell University