Elastic Abdominal Binders Reduce Cesarean Pain Postoperatively: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

BACKGROUND: A potential non-pharmacologic way to reduce postoperative pain and bleeding is using an abdominal binder during postoperative recovery. This study aims to determine the effect an elastic abdominal binder has on postoperative pain and hemorrhage after cesarean delivery. METHODS: A randomized, single-site, pilot trial was conducted at two prenatal care clinics and an academic hospital in Kansas. Beginning in April 2013, 60 patients were enrolled if delivering via cesarean. Participants were randomized to receive an abdominal binder or to a control group (did not use binder). Pain levels were reported by questionnaire one day after surgery using a 0 to 10 scale, with 10 being the worst pain. Patient characteristics and blood loss were assessed by medical record review. RESULTS: Of the 56 patients completing the study, 29 (51.8%) were randomized to the binder group and 27 (48.2%) were randomized to the control group. The binder group reported significantly lower pain score (p = 0.019) and average pain score (p = 0.024). There was no difference in body mass index, age, previous surgery, infant birth weight, estimated blood loss, and average dose of pain medication during the first 24 hours after the cesarean delivery between the two groups. There was no difference in pre- and post-operative hemoglobin levels by treatment group (p = 0.406). CONCLUSIONS: Abdominal binders may be associated with improved postoperative pain scores but did not affect postoperative hemorrhage.