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Join our study analysing respiratory muscle training and the affects of long COVID

We need volunteers to help research persistent breathlessness after COVID, and the effect of a resisted breathing intervention on respiratory muscle strength.

Research Background

This study will start on 23 October 2023 and end on 30 March 2024.

At time of writing there is no standardised treatment for alleviation of breathlessness (dyspnea), which is one of the most commonly reported symptom of Long COVID.

There is a great need to provide a treatment to alleviate dyspnea in the population - both to improve their quality of life and reduce sedentary time caused by post exertional malaise (PEM).

Some studies have identified clinically meaningful outcomes from inspiratory muscle training. However, there is a lack of consistent and reproducible evidence. Therefore research is needed to replicate these findings to potentially change policy.

Participant Eligibility

Take part in this study if you:

  • are aged between 18 and 65 years old
  • experience breathlessness following a COVID-19 infection over 3 months ago
  • are not pregnant
  • do not have a diagnosis of Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Cystic fibrosis, Heart condition, Dementia
  • are not currently receiving other respiratory muscle training
  • are not using a corticosteroid inhaler
Woman holding breathing device

What you'll do

Participants will be invited to undergo spirometry testing to measure their lung function and respiratory muscle strength.

They will be asked to complete a set of questionnaires about their experience of breathlessness, sleep quality, general physical activity and other general health and well being questions.

Participants will also be asked to do a 6-minute walk test and a submaximal exercise test to investigate their exercise capacity and their ability to utilise oxygen for energy production.

Woman filling in a questionnaire

What you will get for taking part

By taking part in this study, you will be making a valuable contribution to scientific knowledge and will help to pioneer this area of research.

The study will give you multiple clinically relevant tests, for which there is currently a long waiting list on the NHS.

Also, the use of inspiratory muscle training has been seen to be beneficial in Long COVID and similar conditions (COPD and asthma).

Sign up now

To sign up or ask questions about the study, contact Rachel Eddy or Professor Dylan Thompson.