Testing Box Breathing to Improve Recovery After Knee Replacement Surgery in Adults 65 and Older

What this Trial Is About

Older adults aged 65 years and older undergoing total knee arthroplasty TKA face a significant risk of postoperative complications, which can negatively impact their physical and mental well-being. This trial is exploring whether a breathwork technique called Box Breathing can help manage the bodys stress response to surgery, potentially reducing complications such as pain, anxiety, and depression. The study focuses on understanding how this intervention affects stress biology through measures like diurnal cortisol rhythm and patient-reported recovery outcomes. Participants are randomly assigned to either a Box Breathing intervention group or an attention control group watching a TriPeaks card game video. Both interventions are delivered via pre-recorded YouTube videos accessed asynchronously online. Participants will complete six 5-minute sessions over two consecutive days after surgery Postoperative Days 2 and 3. During these days, participants will also collect saliva samples three times daily to assess cortisol levels and complete surveys about their experience and recovery. Throughout the study, participants provide self-reports on pain, anxiety, depression, and quality of recovery. Researchers will assess the feasibility of the breathwork intervention by monitoring recruitment, retention, saliva sample collection, and survey completion. Outcome measures include postoperative pain, anxiety, depression scales, quality of recovery scores, and cortisol rhythm analysis. The study duration averages around 4.5 months, allowing for thorough evaluation of the interventions impact and acceptability in older adults following TKA.

Feasibility of Breathwork Intervention With Older Adults After Knee Surgery