NCT06893445

The Effect of Deep Tissue Massage on Respiratory Parameters in People With Asthma

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 40 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Jagiellonian University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Bronchial asthma, as a chronic inflammatory disease of the respiratory tract, significantly reduces the quality of life of patients. Standard treatment includes pharmacotherapy, but a holistic approach, including manual therapies, can support pharmacological therapy, reducing the need for drugs. The aim of the research is to verify whether deep tissue massage (DTM) techniques applied to the chest significantly affect respiratory parameters in people with asthma. The study is the next stage of the study conducted on healthy people. After obtaining positive results in the study involving people not suffering from respiratory diseases, the next step is to examine people with, in this case, bronchial asthma. It is important to determine whether the use of this form of manual therapy can bring benefits in the context of improving respiratory functions, reducing respiratory muscle tension and relieving subjective symptoms associated with asthma, such as shortness of breath or limitations in everyday functioning. The hypothesis assumes that DTM techniques can have a bigger effect on the respiratory system than classic massage (CM). The study is a randomized controlled trial, where participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: the study group (subjected to DTM) or the control group (subjected to CM). Before and after the massage intervention, participants will undergo spirometry to assess the changes in respiratory parameters. The obtained data will then be analyzed for effects on respiratory parameters and differences between both groups.

Conditions

• Massage
• Asthma Patients

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
PROCEDURE	Deep Tissue Massage	Administered as a soft tissue mobilization performed by the therapist with fingertips, knuckles, elbows and/or fists on the tissues that manifest symptoms of fascial restrictions. The techniques were performed with individually adjusted force until the change (eg. increased mobility) in the tissue being treated was stated by the therapist.
PROCEDURE	Classic massage	The subject was lying supine on the table, with a roller placed under the knee joints, the upper limbs along the body. The following sequence of techniques was used in the longitudinal and transverse strands and in the intercostal spaces (excluding the breast in women): effleurage, friction, petrissage, pressures, tapotement and vibrations.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-07-01
• Primary completion: 2026-07-28
• Completion: 2026-08-28
• First posted: 2025-03-25
• Last updated: 2025-03-25

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: Poland