NCT06103955

OptiMuscle - Improving Respiration by Optimising Muscle Function

Improving Outcomes in Dysfunctional Breathing Through the Optimization of Muscle Function (OptiMuscle)

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 10 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of Salford · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The primary aim will be to understand whether a digital breathing biofeedback system can improve the outcomes of physiotherapist guided breathing retraining.

Detailed description

Approximately 10% of people in the United Kindom exhibit some form of dysfunctional breathing. This term describes a range of conditions which are characterised by an impairment in the muscular control of breathing and which can result in breathlessness, hyperventilation and, in some cases, dizziness. Current clinical assessment techniques and treatments for dysfunctional breathing are low-tech. The investigators propose that patients would get more benefit from a system which uses biofeedback on muscle patterns to guide breathing re-education. The investigators have developed a new digital health system for the clinical management of dysfunctional breathing. The system uses an avatar to provide biofeedback to communicate abnormal muscle function in real-time, guiding patients through a process in which they gradually learn the correct muscular control of breathing. The proposed intervention seeks to understand if the addition of a digital breathing biofeedback system improves the outcomes of physiotherapy guided breathing retraining. Patients awaiting respiratory physiotherapy for dysfunctional breathing will be recruited to receive 4 sessions of breathing retraining with the assistance of the digital breathing biofeedback system. All patients will complete lung function tests and Quality of Life questionnaires pre- and post- treatment. Patients will also be offered an interview to understand their experiences of using the system.

Conditions

• Dysfunctional Breathing
• Breathing Pattern Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Digital Breathing Biofeedback system	The biofeedback system provides information to the patient and physio about the muscle coordination of breathing.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-03-01
• Primary completion: 2025-12-31
• Completion: 2026-02-28
• First posted: 2023-10-27
• Last updated: 2025-08-29

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United Kingdom