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Stress ball may ease anxiety during hand surgery, study finds

NCT ID NCT06742814

Symptom relief Sponsor: National Taiwan University Hospital Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026

Summary

This study tested whether using a stress ball during local anesthesia for hand surgery can lower anxiety and pain. 74 adults were randomly assigned to either squeeze a stress ball or receive standard care. Researchers measured heart rate variability and self-reported anxiety and pain levels. The goal is to find a simple, drug-free way to improve the surgical experience.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
stress ball
What this could lead to
If it works, this could give doctors a simple, no-drug way to help patients feel calmer and less pain during minor surgeries.
What could go wrong
This is a small, completed trial with only 74 people. The effect may be small or not work for everyone, and stress balls are not a substitute for medical anxiety treatment.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

74 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Jan 2025

Finished

Dec 2025

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 to 99 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion criteria were: (1) age ≥ 18 years and able to communicate in Mandarin or Taiwanese Hokkien; and (2) scheduled to undergo outpatient hand surgery under local anesthesia. Exclusion criteria were: (1) use of anxiolytics or sedatives within one week prior to surgery; (2) concurrent bilateral hand surgery during the same operative session; and (3) known cardiac arrhythmia or use of a cardiac pacemaker.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

anxiety anxiety disorder

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Anxiety

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • National Taiwan University Hospital, Hsin-Chu Branch

    Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan

  • National Taiwan University Hospital, Hsin-Chu Branch

    Hsinchu, Taiwan

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