Electrical muscle stimulation after pancreatic cancer surgery
Join a focus group or chat with a researcher to share your thoughts
The project
Dr Dominic O’Connor from the University of Nottingham is conducting a study to assess the feasibility of using neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) to reduce muscle and strength loss in the days and weeks following pancreatic cancer surgery.
NMES delivers mild electrical impulses to stimulate muscle contractions, similar to exercise. The project will determine whether patients can safely and effectively use NMES during early recovery, and explore its impact on muscle size, strength, and quality of life. Findings will inform the design of a future clinical trial.
What are you going to do?
The team will will recruit patients after pancreatic surgery and deliver NMEs from the first day after surgery up to a 6-weeks after surgery. Feasibility outcomes such as recruitment, adherence to the intervention, safety, and acceptability (through interviews) will be assessed alongside exploratory measures of muscle mass, strength, and quality of life.
Why is this research important?
Pancreatic cancer surgery causes profound muscle loss and fatigue, limiting recovery and quality of life. If NMES proves feasible and acceptable, it could offer a scalable rehabilitation strategy to preserve muscle function when traditional exercise is not possible, improving recovery and long-term outcomes.
How do I get involved?
The team would like individuals with lived experience of pancreatic cancer, surgery and carers to discuss their project idea to help shape and develop the proposal prior to submission. They are also looking for one individuals to be a co-applicant on the application and to continue as study steering group member should the study be funded.
No scientific background or prior experience is needed to take part in this opportunity.
Next steps
If you are interested in joining the focus groups or would like more information, please email Dominic (dominic.o’connor@nottingham.ac.uk) quoting the involvement reference ‘RIN focus group’.
