Physiotherapy for children with dysfunctional breathing
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Feasibility study for a multi-centre trial investigating whether physiotherapy improves outcomes for children with dysfunctional breathing
IRAS ID
149756
Contact name
Heather Elphick
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust
Research summary
Dysfunctional breathing is a respiratory condition affecting children and adults. It can present alone but is commonly found in people with other respiratory problems such as asthma. The symptoms of dysfunctional breathing are very similar in presentation to that of asthma often leading to it being misdiagnosed and unduly high levels of asthma medications being prescribed.
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 multi-centre 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.
REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/WM/1008
Date of REC Opinion
11 Jul 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion