Interventional group (Modified sternal precautions)

Control group (Conventional sternal precautions)

Use pain and discomfort to guide the safe use of the arms Avoid pushing or pulling with one arm Use both arms close to the body during lifting Use of arms is possible, but keep them close to the body Avoid stretching one or both arms backwards at the same time Use a cushion or perform sternal preservation technique (crossing the arms in a 'self-hugging 'posture) when coughing.

When transferring, roll onto the side, ease the legs over the edge of the bed and carefully use the arms to sit up from a lying position

SPBB is a commonly used tool in clinical setting for measuring the physical performance of patients. It is known for its feasibility and shorter time to conduct. It has been used in different studies for reporting outcome measure post cardiac surgery. This outcome measure is also selected due to its high validity and reliability. The reliability of the test is 0.87. It is divided into three subtests: balance, a short walk at normal pace and lastly standing up from a chair five times repeatedly. These subsets exemplify core tasks being important for independent living.

Functional difficulties questionnaire is a functional outcome measures that specially focuses on the thoracic region and upper limb movements in people following cardiac surgery. The validity of the questionnaire is 0.971 while its reliability is 0.918. The questionnaire is divided into 13 questions which consists of functional tasks, causing difficulty following cardiac surgery. Participants are required to mark on an unmarked 10cm VAS the level of difficulty they experienced when completing each of the included tasks, based on the previous time they experience.

It is a broadly used tool to measure pain related fear beliefs regarding movement and re-injury. The validly of the questionnaire range between 0.74 to 0.87 and its reliability is 0.747. It is a self-reported questionnaire. It includes 11 questions scale on likert scale ranging from 1 to 4 where 1 means strongly disagree while 4 means strongly agree. The total score ranges between 11 to 44. Higher score indicate high level of kinesiopobhia. A reduction of points equal or more than 3 points accounting for about 10% is considered as relevant change.

It is one of the most widely used questionnaire for the measurement of pain. Its benefit is that it provides valuable information on the sensory, affective and evaluative dimensions of pain experience by an individual. It has a capability of discriminating among different types of pain problems. It has become one of the most commonly used tests for the measurement of pain following cardiac surgery via sternotomy. The reliability of the questionnaire ranges from 0.75 to 0.83.

This questionnaire provides overall measure of quality of recovery of patient according to the patient's perspective. It is a reliable and valid tool used mainly in clinical practices to measure health related quality of life following cardiac surgery. The reliability of scale is 0.65 to 0.96. This tool consists of eight domains comprising of physical functioning, role physical functioning, role emotional functioning, mental health, vitality, social functioning, bodily pain and general health. Responses are recorded on a five-point Likert scale and then transformed onto a 100-point scale. Score higher than 50 shows better health state and less pain experienced