Physiotherapy for Children With Dysfunctional Breathing

Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust31 enrolled

Overview

Dysfunctional breathing in children primarily affects the ability to participate in sport or exercise but can also stop children doing other activities such as playing musical instruments. Clinical experience has shown that physiotherapy (through the use of breathing retraining and other associated techniques) can stop the symptoms of dysfunctional breathing, allowing children to return to normal activities and reduce or stop inhaled medications. Whilst there is some evidence in adults with this condition to support the use of physiotherapy, there have been no studies carried out in children investigating whether physiotherapy is beneficial for children with dysfunctional breathing. This study therefore aims to investigate the feasibility of a future large scale multicentre clinical trial designed to investigate whether physiotherapy improves outcomes for children with dysfunctional breathing. The improved management of this common but under recognised condition would lead to significant improvements in the quality of life of children coupled with the reduction in potentially harmful medications.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Dysfunctional Breathing

Interventions

PhysiotherapyBEHAVIORAL

A course of breathing retraining delivered by a physiotherapist and practiced by the participant at home.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 8 YearsMax age: 16 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: Aged 8-16 years Clinical diagnosis of dysfunctional breathing Exclusion Criteria: Uncontrolled comorbidities Participant and parents/guardians not fluent in written and spoken English Inability to follow instructions

Locations (1)

Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust

Sheffield, Sheffield (South Yorkshire District), United Kingdom

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Child and parent proxy report versions of the quality of life questionnaire(PedsQL)

To measure participant and parent proxy report of quality of life in the four domains of physical, emotional, social and school functioning

Time frame: 24 months

Secondary Outcomes

Symptom questionnaire (Nijmegen questionnaire)

To measure the type and frequency of symptoms commonly associated with dysfunctional breathing

Time frame: 24 months

Structured light plethysmography (SLP) scan (Thora-3DI)

To objectively measure breathing pattern and rate without influencing these parameters

Time frame: 24 months

Reliever inhaler usage recorded using a data logger device

To measure usage of inhaled reliever medication

Time frame: 24 months

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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