NCT05506202

Basic Body Awareness Therapy (BBAT) for Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Completed NA Last updated 6 January 2026

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Individual basic body awareness therapy in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in 25 participants. Completed in 31 July 2023.

Timeline

1 August 2022

Primary endpoint
31 July 2023

31 July 2023

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	North District Hospital
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	none
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	25
Start date	1 August 2022
Primary completion	31 July 2023
Estimated completion	31 July 2023
Sites	1 location across Hong Kong

Drugs / interventions tested

• Individual basic body awareness therapy
• Respiratory physiotherapy interventions

Conditions studied

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease — all drugs for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease →

Sponsor

North District Hospital

Who can join

Adults 18 to 100, any sex, with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a burden to health care and economic systems globally, to manage this preventable and treatable disease, different pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions were shown to be effective.

Chronic and progressive dyspnea, cough and sputum production are the characteristic symptoms of COPD. The most commonly encountered symptom in patients with COPD is dyspnea, it is a subjective experience of breathing discomfort . It causes impact on patient's health status, sleep quality, anxiety and depression level. Therefore, skills transfer in self-managing major symptoms are crucial to prevent negative consequences, and as suggested by Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD), managing symptoms and to prevent future risk of exacerbations is important for stable COPD cases.

Basic Body Awareness Therapy (BBAT) is a physio-therapeutic intervention directed toward patients' functional movement quality. The development of BBAT was based on the hypothesis of persons' lacking contact with and lacking awareness on their own body, with their inner life, external environment and in the relation to other persons. Thus, it leads to dysfunctional movement, pain and other body functions. BBAT focus on multi-perspective within a person including physical, physiological, psycho-social-cultural and existential perspectives. It directs patients to be "aware", guides patients to have mental contact with their body, monitors internal sensations and external environment, and thus, to enhance the self-regulated behavior and positive emotional state.

There are three key components in practicing BBAT, namely balance, free breathing and mental awareness. Evidence shown that the effect of BBAT is significant in improving physical and psycho-social well-being in patients with different physical and mental disorders. Now, there is absence of evidence in applying BBAT in managing cases with respiratory diseases, especially for those with prominent symptoms of dyspnea (for example COPD cases).

The objectives of this study are (1) to evaluate individual BBAT as an add-on treatment in patients with COPD, (2) to understand COPD patients' experience through participating in individual Basic Body Awareness Therapy (BBAT).

Publications & conference data

1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. The Impact of Anxiety and Depression in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
   Rahi MS, Thilagar B, Balaji S, Prabhakaran SY, et al · · 2023 · cited 70× · PMID 36960961 · DOI 10.3390/arm91020011