Feasibility of Interval Exercise in Bronchiectasis

Summary

Research to date suggests that encouraging increased physical activity and exercise engagement may be an effective way to improve symptoms, fitness, quality of life, and reduce time spent in hospital for bronchiectasis sufferers. However, relatively few patients continue to engage with exercise programs that are of benefit to their health and symptoms. Barriers to exercise are thought to include time constraints and the use of specialist equipment (e.g. cycle ergometers) which may not be available or accessible in the home (or hospital) setting. With these points in mind, there is growing interest in brief, relatively intense, interval exercise interventions for chronic lung disease sufferers as they require minimal equipment and may more easily translate back into the home setting. Of the types of approach this might include, both stair-based and walk-based interval exercise appear to be relatively safe, practical, and time-efficient ways to improve physical fitness and quality of life in previously untrained and clinical populations. However, the feasibility and effectiveness of their use by chronic lung disease patients, particularly those with bronchiectasis, is yet to be properly examined. The investigators therefore intend to recruit 10 bronchiectasis patients to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of minimal-equipment interval exercise interventions in this population. More specifically, the investigators would like to observe patients' acute physical and perceptual responses to four different step and walk-based protocols which have been established for other clinical populations. The investigators also wish to explore whether these protocols are engaged with, and enjoyed, during a six week unsupervised exercise intervention (in the home), as well as the effects of this six week unsupervised exercise period on physical fitness. This project will hopefully make a valuable contribution to the limited research to have examined the real-world application and impact of interval-type exercise interventions on exercise behaviour, health, and symptoms in bronchiectasis sufferers.

Conditions

• Bronchiectasis

Interventions

OTHER

Step and walk-based high intensity interval exercise

Four hospital-based trials will include two step-based (3 x 20 sec with 120 sec rest, or 3 x 60 sec with 60 sec rest) and two walking-based (e.g. 3 x 60 sec with 60 sec rest or 3 x 180 sec with 180 sec rest) interval exercise protocols, in a randomised and counterbalanced order. Unsupervised (At home) exercise intervention will incorporate patients' preferred stair and/or walking-based interval exercise (from those completed during hospital trials). Initially patients will complete their chosen protocol three days per week, and then gradually progress exercise load (i.e. reps, work-to-rest ratio, and/or sessions per week) as appropriate, to a maximum of 6 x 60 sec stepping / 5 x 180 sec walking, five times per week (i.e. maximum of \~30 min daily or \~150 min weekly).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Lincoln

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Danny Taylor, PhD · University of Lincoln

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

80 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2019-06-05

Primary Completion

2019-09-05

Completion

2019-09-05

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations