An observational study in Kinesiophobia, sponsored by Volkan Gokmen. Not yet recruiting at 2 sites in Turkey (Türkiye). Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-24.
Sponsored by Volkan Gokmen · Observational
This study examines the level of kinesiophobia (fear of movement) in patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery and its relationship with postoperative pain severity and early mobilization. In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, adult patients who have undergone elective abdominal surgery under general anesthesia at two centers (Agri Training and Research Hospital and Taksim Training and Research Hospital) will be assessed after completing their first postoperative mobilization (typically postoperative day 1). Kinesiophobia will be measured with the Turkish version of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK), postoperative pain with the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), and early mobilization with a researcher-developed Early Mobilization Record Form (time to first ambulation, standing duration, and first walking distance/duration). The investigators hypothesize that patients' kinesiophobia levels will be positively associated with postoperative pain severity and with delayed/reduced early mobilization, and that patients without prior surgical experience will have higher kinesiophobia levels than those with prior surgical experience.
Postoperative early mobilization is one of the most important components of the post-surgical recovery process, playing a critical role in preventing complications such as deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary complications, and bowel dysfunction, and in shortening hospital stay and accelerating functional recovery. However, a substantial proportion of patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery avoid movement due to concerns about postoperative pain, the surgical incision, drains, and possible complications; this phenomenon is described in the literature as 'kinesiophobia' (fear of movement). Kinesiophobia is defined as an excessive, irrational fear of movement resulting from a feeling of vulnerability to painful injury or re-injury. In recent years, kinesiophobia has increasingly been studied in cardiac surgery and various other surgical patient groups, but studies examining the relationship between kinesiophobia and postoperative pain and early mobilization in elective abdominal surgery patients are limited.
This descriptive and cross-sectional study aims to determine the level of kinesiophobia in patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery and to examine its relationship with postoperative pain severity and early mobilization (time to first standing and first walking duration).
Research Questions:
Hypotheses:
H1: There is a significant positive relationship between patients' kinesiophobia levels and postoperative pain severity.
H2: There is a significant positive relationship between patients' kinesiophobia levels and time to first standing (kinesiophobia level increases as mobilization is delayed).
H3: There is a significant relationship between patients' kinesiophobia levels and first walking duration/distance.
H4: Patients without prior surgical experience have significantly higher kinesiophobia levels than patients with prior surgical experience.
The study will be conducted at the General Surgery clinics of two centers, Agri Training and Research Hospital and Taksim Training and Research Hospital (multicenter). Data will be collected in a single cross-section, during the period when patients complete their first postoperative mobilization (typically postoperative day 1); no experimental intervention will be applied within the scope of the study.
The study population will consist of adult patients who undergo elective abdominal surgery in the General Surgery clinics of the two participating hospitals and complete their first postoperative mobilization on postoperative day 1. Inclusion criteria: age 18 years or older; having undergone elective (planned) abdominal surgery; having had surgery under general anesthesia; ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) physical status class I-II; having completed first mobilization on postoperative day 1; able to communicate in Turkish and understand written/verbal directions; conscious and oriented; willing to voluntarily participate and provide informed consent. Exclusion criteria: a known pre-existing walking/movement disorder, balance problem, or orthopedic-neurological disease history; having undergone emergency surgery; being followed in an intensive care unit; having a significant cognitive impairment or communication difficulty that prevents responding to data collection tools; having a visual or hearing impairment that prevents completing the forms/scales; being in a state of heavy postoperative sedation or delirium; having previously been enrolled in the same study; refusing to participate.
Sample size was calculated using G*Power 3.1 based on the bivariate correlation between two variables. Using a medium effect size (r=0.30) reported in similar studies examining the kinesiophobia-pain relationship, with alpha=0.05 and power (1-beta)=0.80, a minimum of 85 patients was calculated as necessary. Accounting for possible data loss, a total sample size of 120 patients (60 per center) is targeted.
Data will be collected using a data collection form and clinical observation record consisting of three sections: (1) a Patient Identification and Clinical Characteristics Form developed by the researchers based on the literature, recording age, sex, body mass index, education level, ASA physical status class, chronic disease history, prior surgical experience, type and duration of the surgical procedure, type of anesthesia, and time elapsed after surgery; (2) the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK), developed by Kori et al. and adapted into Turkish with validity and reliability testing by Tunca Yilmaz et al., a 17-item, 4-point Likert-type scale (1=strongly disagree to 4=strongly agree) with total scores ranging from 17-68, with higher scores indicating greater kinesiophobia (written permission for use of the scale items will be obtained from the Turkish adaptation authors prior to use); (3) the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), scored from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst imaginable pain), used to assess postoperative pain severity both at rest and during movement; and (4) an Early Mobilization Record Form developed by the researchers, recording the time of first standing after surgery, the duration the patient was able to remain standing at first mobilization, and the distance/duration of the first walk, based on nursing observation records and patient self-report. Completion of the data collection form and scale is expected to take approximately 10-15 minutes.
Study data will be collected by the researchers after obtaining ethics committee and institutional approvals. After patients meeting the inclusion criteria complete their first postoperative mobilization, the purpose of the study will be explained and written informed consent obtained. In a face-to-face interview with consenting patients, the Patient Identification and Clinical Characteristics Form and the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia will be completed, and postoperative pain severity will be queried with the NRS during the same interview. The time and duration of first mobilization will be recorded on the Early Mobilization Record Form based on nursing observation records together with patient self-report. Data collection will be carried out in an environment appropriate to each patient's clinical condition and ensuring privacy.
Data obtained from the study will be analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). The distributional characteristics of the data will first be evaluated with the Shapiro-Wilk test. Descriptive statistics will use counts and percentages for categorical variables, and means, standard deviations, medians, and minimum-maximum values for continuous variables. The relationship between TSK total score and NRS pain score and mobilization durations will be evaluated with Pearson or Spearman correlation analysis depending on the distributional characteristics of the data. Two-group comparisons (e.g., patients with/without prior surgical experience) will use the independent samples t-test or Mann-Whitney U test depending on distribution; comparisons among more than two groups will use one-way ANOVA or the Kruskal-Wallis test. Multiple linear regression analysis will be applied to identify variables predicting kinesiophobia level. Statistical significance will be accepted at p\<0.05; relationship magnitudes and 95% confidence intervals will be reported.
Anticipated difficulties include: patients' participation in data collection may be limited by postoperative pain, fatigue, or sedation; the timing of first mobilization may vary from patient to patient and according to clinical workload; mobilization information in nursing observation records may be incomplete or non-standardized; conducting the study at two different hospitals may make it difficult to standardize clinical practice for data collection; there is a possibility of social desirability bias given that kinesiophobia is assessed with a self-report scale; and if the planned sample size cannot be reached within the planned timeframe, the data collection period may need to be extended.
Limitations: due to the cross-sectional design of the study, the relationships among kinesiophobia, pain, and mobilization cannot be interpreted as cause-and-effect, but only at the level of association. Additionally, since the study will be conducted at only two hospitals and with patients who agree to participate, the generalizability of the findings to the broader elective abdominal surgery patient population is limited.
285 studies on the registry are indexed under Kinesiophobia; 91 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 120 is above the median of 84 across 111 observational studies indexed under Kinesiophobia.
Browse Kinesiophobia studies →Volkan Gokmen is the lead sponsor of 8 studies on the registry; 6 are open to participants now.
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Adult patients (18 years or older) undergoing elective abdominal surgery under general anesthesia in the General Surgery clinics of Agri Training and Research Hospital and Taksim Training and Research Hospital, who have completed their first postoperative mobilization (typically postoperative day 1).
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
The anaesthetists’ scale of health before surgery: I is healthy, II has a mild illness that is under control, III a severe one, IV a severe illness that is a constant threat to life. V and VI are used for the critically ill and for organ donors.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
ASA physical status
The anaesthetists’ scale of health before surgery: I is healthy, II has a mild illness that is under control, III a severe one, IV a severe illness that is a constant threat to life. V and VI are used for the critically ill and for organ donors.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Adult patients who underwent elective abdominal surgery under general anesthesia at Agri Training and Research Hospital or Taksim Training and Research Hospital and completed their first postoperative mobilization (typically postoperative day 1). No experimental intervention is applied; participants complete the Patient Identification and Clinical Characteristics Form, the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK), and the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for pain, and their early mobilization (time to first standing, first walking duration/distance) is recorded via nursing observation and patient self-report.
Diagnostic Test: Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK)
A single assessment battery administered after the patient completes first postoperative mobilization, consisting of the Turkish version of the 17-item Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK) to measure fear of movement, the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS, 0-10) to assess postoperative pain at rest and during movement, and a researcher-developed Early Mobilization Record Form documenting time to first standing, standing duration, and first walking distance/duration. No experimental intervention or treatment is applied.
Kinesiophobia Level (Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia Score)
Kinesiophobia (fear of movement) level assessed with the Turkish version of the 17-item Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK), a 4-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree to 4=strongly agree) with total scores ranging from 17-68. Higher scores indicate greater kinesiophobia.
Time frame: Assessed once, at the time the patient completes first postoperative mobilization (typically postoperative day 1)
Postoperative Pain Severity (Numeric Rating Scale)
Postoperative pain severity assessed with the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), scored from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst imaginable pain), evaluated both at rest and during movement.
Time frame: Assessed once, at the time the patient completes first postoperative mobilization (typically postoperative day 1)
Time to First Postoperative Standing
Time elapsed from the end of surgery to the patient's first standing/ambulation attempt, recorded on the Early Mobilization Record Form from nursing observation records and patient self-report.
Time frame: Recorded once, at the time of first postoperative mobilization (typically postoperative day 1)
First Walking Distance/Duration
Distance walked and/or duration of the patient's first postoperative walk, recorded on the Early Mobilization Record Form from nursing observation records and patient self-report.
Time frame: Recorded once, at the time of first postoperative mobilization (typically postoperative day 1)
Plan to share: No — No plan to share individual participant data beyond what is reported in publications resulting from this study; per the study protocol, data will be used only for the purposes of this research and will not be shared with individuals outside the research team.
Start is estimated for Oct 2026; primary completion for Dec 2026, 2 months later.
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This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Sep 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Volkan Gokmen