Early rehabilitation in patients following colorectal resection: effectiveness of yogic breathing and manual therapy vs conventional care

Abstract

Introduction Early rehabilitation programs have become an important focus of perioperative management after colorectal surgery with aims of improving patient care, reducing complication rates, and shortening hospital stay following colorectal surgery. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Yogic Breathing and Manual Diaphragm Release Technique in early rehabilitation of patients following surgery to remove colorectal cancer. Methods A total of 40 patients with colorectal cancer who underwent colorectal resection were randomly assigned to receive either the experimental protocol (experimental group, EG: n 20 average age 66,5 years) or the stansard postoperative care (standard group, SG: n 20 average age 66 years). In all subjects, postoperative outcomes after seven sessions were: peripheral oxygen saturation of capillary blood hemoglobin (SpO2), heart rate (HR), Activities of Daily Living (ADL), Short-Form 12 (SF-12) questionnaire, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and pulmonary functionality (spirometer). Results The length of postoperative hospital stay and ventilation hours were shorter in patients receiving the experimental protocol compared with those receiving the conventional postoperative care. A better pulmonary functionality, which is fundamental for reducing lung complications, was recorded in patients receiving the experimental program than in those receiving conventional care mainly in the percentage of Forced Expiratory Volume in 1st second. A significantly improvement of SPO2 and a greater decrement of HR was observed in the EG. To compare with SG, SF12 score after experimental protocol showed an improvement of quality of live. There was no significant difference in ADL score when the two groups were compared. Patients who received the experimental protocol compared with those receiving the standard postoperative care showed a significantly reduction of discomfort after surgery. Conclusion Our experience demonstrated that there is the place for cooperation between Yogic Breathing and Manual Diaphragm Release Technique after colorectal surgery. The comparison between the groups showed that the SG has been in a favorable clinical condition to prevent PPCs than the CG group. Thus, this new approach could be used as a component of the management of patients who have undergone colorectal surgery for cancer.