# Towards Precision Rehabilitation for Ventral Hernia

> **NIH NIH F32** · OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $10,174

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Hernia repairs are one of the most common surgeries performed in the United States, with over 350,000
ventral hernia repairs (VHR) performed yearly. Beyond the high health care system expenditure on VHR,
patients report poor quality of life, post-operative pain, and time loss at work. Management traditionally
includes surgical restoration of the abdominal wall, and short-term physician follow-up to ensure surgical site
healing. Even once surgery has restored the abdominal wall, individuals post-operatively demonstrate major
impairments of the musculoskeletal system including poor strength and function which contributes to reduced
activities of daily living and a lower self-reported quality of life. Participation in physical therapy (PT) post-
operatively may directly address and improve overall strength, function, and post-operative pain, in turn
improving self-reported quality of life. There is a need to characterize recovery of function after VHR,
specifically with the addition of objective measures of function to standard of care. Notably, we do not know the
modifiable clinical characteristics of patients who will benefit the most from undergoing standardized post-
operative PT. As a step towards this, we must understand the patient- and surgery-specific factors linked to a
likelihood of a successful outcome following VHR. This mentored training plan will use data from a CMS
Qualified Clinical Data Registry and an NIH/NIDDK funded registry-based clinical trial to understand the
complex relationships between patient- and surgical-characteristics as they relate to post-operative function.
Findings from this fellowship will provide (1) robust predictive models to understand characteristics of patients
who have a good or poor self-reported quality of life 1 year after ventral hernia repair and (2) foundational
evidence in understanding treatment response to physical therapy using objective measures of function. This
fellowship proposes a paradigm shift of the current approach to hernia disease by considering objective and
patient-reported measures of function of as a primary post-operative outcome. Meeting the objectives of this
fellowship will afford the applicant the knowledge and skills required of an independent investigator and provide
requisite preparation for a faculty position at a research-intensive university.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10929418
- **Project number:** 5F32DK137486-02
- **Recipient organization:** OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Elanna Arhos
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $10,174
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-11 → 2024-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10929418

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10929418, Towards Precision Rehabilitation for Ventral Hernia (5F32DK137486-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10929418. Licensed CC0.

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