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Walking and Sitting Difficulties After Rectal Cancer Surgery
Sponsor: Sahlgrenska University Hospital
Summary
Earlier studies have shown that many patients (up to 30%) who have had a major surgery for rectal cancer, called a rectum amputation (where the entire rectum and anus are removed and the person gets a permanent stoma), still have trouble sitting and walking three years after the surgery. These problems are then seen as long-term or chronic. WASA is a randomized multicenter international study that will test a way to reduce these problems. It will start in fall 2025 and go on for 3.5 years. About 300 patients will take part. The patients will be randomly divided into two groups. One group will get guided online training twice a week, specially made for their needs. The other group will get information about the World Health Organization's (WHO) general advice on physical activity. The idea is that special training during the first year after surgery will reduce problems with walking and sitting. If the hypothesis can be confirmed, it could lead to an easy and low-cost way to help many rectal cancer patients feel and function better.
Official title: WASA - Walking and Sitting Difficulties After APE
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - Any
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
300
Start Date
2025-09-15
Completion Date
2031-04-01
Last Updated
2025-06-25
Healthy Volunteers
No
Interventions
Targeted leaderled training program
Training program: After inclusion and consent the patients are instructed through an online group training program consisting of specific training of levator, abdominal, quadriceps (all portions), and gluteal muscles as well as endurance training. They are given information about WHO recommendations about physical activity. The patients are asked to sign up for two specific training occasions per week where no group will be larger than 10 patients. Group based exercise sessions consist of 45-minute supervised online zoom exercise sessions. Apart from the supervised sessions patients are encouraged to perform one functional training session, unsupervised, as well as follow the WHO recommendation for aerobic exercise
Control arm with WHO recommendation on physical activity
Training will be in accordance with WHO recommendations of 30 min aerobic physical activity five times per week (150 min per week) plus strength sessions twice weekly. The patients will be individually adviced on how to perform the training at inclusion in the trial. This is considered standard care and will not include any on-line supervision, but will include a coaching/reminder by a phone call from a research nurse/short message service (by choice of the patient) at regular intervals before and after surgery
Locations (1)
Department of Surgery, SSORG - Scandinavian Surgical Outcomes Research Group, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, 416 85 Gothenburg, Sweden.
Gothenburg, Sweden