Breathing and Relaxation Exercises for Asthma: a Randomised Controlled Trial

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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All patients on the GP asthma database in one practice were invited for an asthma physical-therapy assessment, at baseline. Volunteers satisfying the inclusion criteria ie - aged between 16 and 70, able to understand, read and write English, give informed consent, willing to attend the surgery to take part in the trial and with no other serious conditions - were invited to participate in the study. Patients were randomised either to a control group, receiving 2 more assessments at 6 and 12 months, or for comparison to a group receiving 5 physical-therapy treatments of integrated breathing and relaxation exercises (known as the Papworth Method (PM)). The two groups would then be compared at 6 and 12 months. Hypotheses: The PM of breathing and relaxation training would improve the quality of life for adult patients with asthma in primary care, compared with patients only receiving usual medical care. Anxiety and depression, and symptoms from dysfunctional breathing would reduce compared with the control group. Respiratory function measurements would improve compared with the control group.

Official Title
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A Physical Therapy Treatment for Adults Diagnosed With Asthma in Primary Care: a Randomised Controlled Trial

Conditions
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Asthma

Intervention / Treatment
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* Procedure: Breathing and relaxation exercises: the Papworth Method


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: doctor diagnosed asthma, volunteers from the practice asthma database 16-70 years of age able to understand, speak and write English willing to give informed consent willing and able to attend the surgery for assessments and treatments Exclusion Criteria: serious co-morbid conditions

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 16 Years
Maximum Age: 70 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Intervention/Treatment |
| --- |
|Procedure: Breathing and relaxation exercises: the Papworth Method|nan|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Health related Quality of Life as measured by the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire |  |  | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Anxiety and Depression as measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. |  |  | 
| Symptoms from dysfunctional breathing measured by the Nijmegen Questionnaire. |  |  | 
| Respiratory measurements as measured by spirometry and capnography. |  |  | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Asthma, Randomised controlled trial, Breathing exercises, Relaxation exercises, Primary care