Effects of Elastic Tape Associated With Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Male Individuals With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Protocol for a 2-Arm, Assessor-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Individuals with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may exhibit thoracoabdominal asynchrony, which reduces ventilatory efficiency. A novel intervention using elastic tape (ET) applied to the chest wall has been shown to acutely reduce thoracoabdominal asynchrony and dyspnea during exercise among individuals with COPD. We hypothesize that using ET in pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) may increase the benefits of PR in this population. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the additional effects of ET on exercise capacity, symptoms of anxiety and depression, health-related quality of life, and physical activity in daily life among male individuals with moderate to very severe COPD who are undergoing PR. Methods: This is a protocol for a randomized, controlled, 2-arm, parallel, blinded assessor clinical trial. Individuals will be followed for 8 weeks, twice a week, with PR sessions lasting approximately 1 hour. Health status (COPD Assessment Test), health-related quality of life (Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire), and psychological distress (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) will be assessed before and after the intervention. Then, exercise capacity will be assessed via the incremental shuttle walking test and endurance shuttle walking test, and participants will use a triaxial accelerometer (ActiGraph) for 7 days to assess physical activity in daily life. Subsequently, individuals will be randomized into ET or sham groups; both groups will complete a PR program (2 times per week for 8 weeks). The ET group will receive applications of ET, whereas the sham group will receive a nonelastic tape. Data will be presented as means and SDs or medians and IQRs. Intergroup comparisons will be performed using a 2-way ANOVA, followed by the Bonferroni post hoc correction test, or the Kruskal-Wallis test, followed by the Dunn post hoc test. The threshold for statistical significance will be set at 5%. Results: The clinical trial registration was approved in June 2023. Recruitment and data collection for the trial are ongoing; as of November 2025, a total of 10 individuals have been recruited, and the results are expected to be available by the end of November 2026. Conclusions: We hypothesize that the use of ET can enhance the benefits of PR in individuals with moderate to very severe COPD and increase exercise capacity and quality of life, as well as reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.