This multicenter, parallel-group, assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial will enroll 248 adults aged ≥75 years with degenerative lumbar spinal diseases scheduled for elective lumbar fusion surgery, and they will be randomized 1:1 into the intervention and usual care groups. The intervention group will receive a 6-week PHYSIO-Prehab multimodal prehabilitation program, including multicomponent exercise, nutritional intervention, comorbidity optimization, and cognitive prehabilitation with brain protection strategies. The control group will receive standard health education provided via a manual, and both groups will receive consistent perioperative Enhanced Recovery After Surgery care. The primary outcome will be the change in Barthel Index (a tool for assessing independence in activities of daily living) from baseline to 30 days postoperatively; secondary outcomes will include pain scores, disability, patient satisfaction, and the 30-day postoperative Comprehensive Complication Index. The trial will initiate recruitment in April 2026 and conclude in December 2027, aiming to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of PHYSIO-Prehab and provide high-quality evidence for patient-centered perioperative care pathways in this population.
Aged ≥75 years at the time of screening
Voluntarily sign the informed consent form
Clinically diagnosed with degenerative lumbar spinal disorders with duration of symptoms >6 months
Requiring elective lumbar fusion surgery (single-level or multi-level, open or minimally invasive approach)
Scheduled to undergo other emergency surgery or day surgery
Urgent medical conditions requiring priority management before spinal surgery
With spinal disorders other than degenerative diseases (spinal fracture, tumor, metastasis, infection, ankylosing spondylitis, scoliosis with Cobb angle >40°)
With contraindications to prehabilitation exercise (New York Heart Association Class IV heart failure, unstable angina, uncontrolled hypertension [systolic BP ≥180 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥110 mmHg despite medication])
Xuanwu Hospital, Beijing
Lead sponsor