BREATH

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Breathing REtraining for people with AsTHma and breathing pattern disorder (BREATH)

• IRAS ID

  346646

• Contact name

  SJ Preece

• Contact email

  s.preece@salford.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Salford

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 10 months, 17 days

• Research summary

  Asthma is a condition which results in breathlessness because the airways become narrowed and swollen. Research has shown that 1/3 of people with asthma may experience breathlessness because of poor muscle coordination during breathing. If this is the case, it is important to provide breathing retraining to people with asthma who experience breathlessness, despite taking asthma medication. We think that current physiotherapy treatments may not work effectively because they do change patterns of muscle tension in the stomach, neck and back and because patients don’t always understand how to improve their breathing. We have developed a new physiotherapy treatment which teaches patients to reduce muscle tension throughout the body. We have also developed computer software which uses small cameras to show breathing patterns as a patient breathes. We call our new treatment “Cognitive Muscular Therapy (CMT)”, because it is a therapy which combines thinking about breathing in a new way (“Cognitive”) with training to reduce muscle tension.
  We will create a version of our treatment for people with asthma. Every patient recruited into the study will receive 7 treatment sessions (lasting 45-60 mins) of CMT at the University of Salford from an experienced NHS respiratory physiotherapist. This treatment will include software to show a patient their breathing pattern as they breath. We will involve patients and physiotherapists in a co-design process. This will involve us delivering the treatment to 10 patients, gathering opinions on how it could be improved and then refining the new treatment. Once we have finalised the treatment, a physiotherapist will deliver it to 20 patients with asthma who experience breathlessness, despite taking medication. We will collect questionnaire data on breathlessness, asthma control, quality-of-life, and collect laboratory measures of breathing function. We will also interview patients to understand their experiences of the treatment.
  

• REC name

  West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  25/WM/0084

• Date of REC Opinion

  15 May 2025

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion