A Study to Evaluate the Combined Efficacy of Abdominal Binders and Nutritional Care on Ambulatory Pain among Postoperative Patients in a Government Hospital, Coimbatore

Abstract

Abdominal binders and appropriate nutritional care are commonly employed to enhance postoperative recovery by reducing pain and promoting early ambulation. This study aimed to evaluate the combined efficacy of abdominal binders and nutritional care on ambulatory pain among postoperative patients who underwent abdominal surgery in a government hospital in Coimbatore. A quasi-experimental post-test only control group design was adopted. Sixty patients were selected using random sampling, with 30 assigned to the experimental group and 30 to the control group based on inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Demographic and clinical data were collected from all participants. The experimental group received both abdominal binder support and structured nutritional care, while the control group received routine postoperative care. Ambulatory pain was assessed using a numerical pain rating scale twice daily for the first three postoperative days.
On postoperative day one, the mean ambulatory pain scores in the experimental and control groups were 8.35 and 9.07 respectively, with a mean difference of 0.72, which was not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. On day two, the mean pain scores were 5.93 in the experimental group and 7.28 in the control group, with a mean difference of 1.35, showing a statistically significant reduction in pain at the 0.001 level.
The findings indicate that the combined use of abdominal binders and nutritional care is more effective in reducing ambulatory pain compared to routine care alone, thereby facilitating improved postoperative recovery and early mobility.