The Effects of Pranayama and Deep Breathing Exercises on Pain and Sleep Quality After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

The purpose of the present research is to determine the effects of pranayama and deep breathing exercises applied to patients after laparoscopic cholecystectomy on shoulder pain and sleep quality. The research was conducted at the General Surgery Clinics of the University of Health Sciences, Van Training and Research Hospital between March 2023 and June 2024. The study was carried out using a pretest-posttest control group randomized controlled experimental trial design. A total of 66 patients (22 in the pranayama group, 22 in the deep breathing group, and 22 in the control group) were included in the study. The research data were collected using the "Patient Descriptive Form," "Visual Analog Scale," and "Richard-Campbell Sleep Scale." The three groups had similar mean preoperative pain and sleep scores (p > 0.05). Mean pain scores were lower in the pranayama and deep breathing groups than in the control group after the exercise at the 6th, 12th, and 24th postoperative hours and discharge (p < 0.05). Deep breathing exercises were revealed to decrease postoperative pain more effectively than pranayama breathing exercises. Considering sleep scores, the pranayama and deep breathing groups had higher mean sleep scores in comparison with the control group (p < 0.05). Trail Registration: This study was registered in the ClinicalTrials.gov database as (NCT06495411) Protocol Registration and Result System. This study was conducted as a master thesis.