The effect of stress ball use on subcutaneous injection procedural pain in orthopedic patients: Randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background

Patients may feel pain during subcutaneous injection and drug absorption that ranges in intensity. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of stress ball use on procedural pain due to subcutaneous injection in orthopedic patients.

Method

The randomized controlled study was conducted with the participation of 134 patients (67 experimental group - 67 control group) who underwent orthopedic surgery at a university hospital between January 2023 and July 2023. Participants were randomly divided into stress ball and control groups. Patient Information Form and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were used to collect the data.

Results

It was found that the majority of the patients (55.2 %) were women and the mean age was 57.2± 18.7 years. The characteristics of the patients in the experimental and control groups were similar. The Visual Analogue Scale values of the experimental group patients at the time of injection were lower than those of the control group, which was statistically significant (p = 0.011). According to 68.7 % of the patients in the experimental group, the use of the stress ball reduced the intensity of pain during injection. In addition, 71.6 % of the patients were satisfied with the use of the stress ball.

Conclusion

It was concluded that using a stress ball helped orthopedic patients feel less pain during subcutaneous injection procedures. It was found that the experimental group's patients were mainly satisfied with the pain relief provided by stress balls.

ClinicalTrials.gov ID

NCT06023485