Stress ball may calm nerves before surgery, small study finds
NCT ID NCT06345768
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tested whether using a stress ball before gallbladder removal surgery helps reduce patients' fear, anxiety, and stress while improving comfort. Ninety adults scheduled for laparoscopic gallbladder removal were randomly assigned to either use a stress ball or receive standard care. Researchers measured fear, anxiety, comfort, and stress levels using questionnaires and visual scales.
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 effective, using a stress ball could be a simple, drug-free way to help patients feel calmer and more comfortable before surgery.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, completed trial with 90 patients, so results may not apply to everyone. The stress ball may not significantly reduce fear or anxiety for all patients.
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
-
90 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Mar 2024
- Finished
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Nov 2024
- Lead sponsor
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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 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide 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: 1. Age 18 years or older 2. Able to speak and understand Turkish 3. Being literate 4. Patients who underwent elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy 5. Volunteering to participate in the study Exclusion Criteria: 1. Use of any analgesic or anxiolytic preoperatively 2. Any physical obstacle to using a stress ball (patients with partial paralysis or weak hand muscles) 3. History of psychiatric disorders or ongoing psychiatric treatment. 4. Emergency surgery 5. Open cholecystectomy 6. Hearing or perception problems
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Samsun Üniversitesi Klinik Araştırma Etik Kurulu
Samsun, Merkez, Turkey (Türkiye)
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