Trial reportThorax2007
Integrated breathing and relaxation training (the Papworth method) for adults with asthma in primary care: a randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in Thorax, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 41 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Effect of Pranayama Breathing Technique on Asthma Control, Pulmonary Function and Quality of Life: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of Laura Mitchell's Relaxation Versus Papworth Exercise on Dyspnea, Fatigue, and Sleep Quality in Ashmatic Patient
Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 167 citations in OpenAlex.
- Breathing techniques to reduce symptoms in people with serious respiratory illness: a systematic review.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2024Pooled it
- Self-management interventions to reduce healthcare use and improve quality of life among patients with asthma: systematic review and network meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2020Pooled it
- Breathing exercises for adults with asthma.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Yoga for asthma.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Pooled it
- Breathing exercises for children with asthma.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Pooled it
- Breathing exercises for dysfunctional breathing/hyperventilation syndrome in children.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2013Pooled it
- Psychosocial factors and behavioral medicine interventions in asthma.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2013Pooled it
- Breathing Exercises for Patients with Asthma in Specialist Care: A Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial.Annals of the American Thoracic Society · 2022Trial
- Impact of interventions targeting anxiety and depression in adults with asthma.The Journal of asthma : official journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma · 2022Trial
- Novel Real-Time OEP Phase Angle Feedback System for Dysfunctional Breathing Pattern Training-An Acute Intervention Study.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Trial
- Physiotherapy breathing retraining for asthma: a randomised controlled trial.The Lancet. Respiratory medicine · 2018Trial
- Trial
- The BREATHE study: Breathing REtraining for Asthma--Trial of Home Exercises. a protocol summary of a randomised controlled trial.Primary care respiratory journal : journal of the General Practice Airways Group · 2013Trial
- Respiratory rehabilitation: a physiotherapy approach to the control of asthma symptoms and anxiety.Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2012Trial
- Dysautonomia and Postural Orthostatic Syndrome of Hypocapnia in Long COVID Syndrome.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Physiotherapy Education and Breathing Retraining for Patients With Hyperventilation Syndrome: An Observational Study.Physiotherapy Canada. Physiotherapie Canada · 2026Article
- Living with breathing pattern disorder: a scoping review.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2026Article
- Dysfunctional breathing mimicking asthma exacerbation with acute hypoxemia: a case report.Respiratory medicine case reports · 2026Article
- The Effectiveness of Manual Therapy in the Cervical Spine and Diaphragm, in Combination with Breathing Re-Education Exercises, on the Range of Motion and Forward Head Posture in Patients with Non-Specific Chronic Neck Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Usability, acceptance, and the role of realism in virtual humans for breathing exercise training.Scientific reports · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAn integrated breathing and relaxation technique known as the Papworth method has been implemented by physiotherapists since the 1960s for patients with asthma and dysfunctional breathing, but no controlled trials have been reported. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Papworth method in a randomised controlled trial.
methodsEighty-five patients (36 men) were individually randomised to the control group (n = 46) or to the intervention group receiving five sessions of treatment by the Papworth method (n = 39). Both groups received usual medical care. Assessments were undertaken at baseline, post-treatment (6 months after baseline) and at 12 months. The primary outcome measure was the St George's Respiratory Symptoms Questionnaire (SGRQ). Secondary outcome measures included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Nijmegen dysfunctional breathing questionnaire and objective measures of respiratory function.
resultsPost-treatment and 12 month data were available for 78 and 72 patients, respectively. At the post-treatment assessment the mean (SD) score on the SGRQ Symptom subscale was 21.8 (18.1) in the intervention group and 32.8 (20.1) in the control group (p = 0.001 for the difference). At the 12 month follow-up the corresponding figures were 24.9 (17.9) and 33.5 (15.9) (p = 0.007 for the difference). SGRQ Total scores and HADS and Nijmegen scores were similarly significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group. The groups did not differ significantly following the treatment on objective measures of respiratory function except for relaxed breathing rate.
conclusionsThe Papworth method appears to ameliorate respiratory symptoms, dysfunctional breathing and adverse mood compared with usual care. Further controlled trials are warranted to confirm this finding, assess the effect in other patient groups and determine whether there is some effect on objective measures of respiratory function.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.