Effects of Breathing Exercises on Pain, Fatigue, and Anxiety Levels in Women Receiving Brachytherapy

May 11, 2025 updated by: Neşe Uysal, Amasya University

Breathing Exercise Women Receiving Brachytherapy

Breathing exercises are one of the most useful techniques to reduce stress and anxiety. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of breathing exercises on pain, anxiety and fatigue in patients receiving brachytherapy treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Introduction: Breathing exercises are one of the most useful techniques to reduce stress and anxiety.

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the effects of breathing exercises on pain, anxiety and fatigue in patients receiving brachytherapy treatment.

Method: The sample of the study will consist of 56 women who applied to the Brachytherapy Unit of a training and research hospital. The research data will be collected using the Introductory Information Form, Numerical Pain Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory and Piper Fatigue Scale. Although studies have been conducted in different areas regarding breathing exercises, no study has been found in our country regarding the effects of breathing exercises on patients receiving brachytherapy. Therefore, this study will determine the effects of breathing exercises on pain, anxiety and fatigue in patients receiving brachytherapy treatment and contribute to the literature.

Conclusion: It is thought that breathing exercises will be beneficial in reducing physical and psychological symptoms.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

50

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

      • Amasya, Turkey
        • Amasya University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Being over 18 years old
  • Being willing to participate in the study
  • Being able to speak and understand Turkish

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Having a malignancy related to the respiratory system (bronchus or lung)
  • Having chest pain
  • Having done box breathing and diaphragm breathing exercises/receiving training before
  • Having cognitive dysfunction
  • Not giving consent to participate in the study

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control
The control group will receive standard care. No intervention will be applied to these patients during the follow-up period, only data collection forms will be applied. Data collection forms will be collected in the same time period as the intervention group.
Experimental: Experimental (breathing exercise)

The researcher has a breathing exercise certificate. In our study, the breathing exercise application consists of three stages: box breathing, sigh breathing and diaphragm breathing.

Patients will be asked to continue the breathing exercise application for 2 weeks and will be reminded to do the breathing exercises. Box and sigh breathing will be done 3 times a day (morning, noon and evening) every day for 2 weeks. Diaphragm breathing exercise will be applied for 2 minutes in the first week and 4 minutes in the second week.

The researcher has a breathing exercise certificate. In our study, the breathing exercise application consists of three stages: box breathing, sigh breathing and diaphragm breathing.

Patients will be asked to continue the breathing exercise application for 2 weeks and will be reminded to do the breathing exercises. Box and sigh breathing will be done 3 times a day (morning, noon and evening) every day for 2 weeks. Diaphragm breathing exercise will be applied for 2 minutes in the first week and 4 minutes in the second week.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Beck Anxiety Inventory
Time Frame: Two week
The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) is a Likert-type assessment scale consisting of 21 items and scored between 0-3, designed to measure the frequency of anxiety symptoms experienced by the individual. Individuals rate each item by giving a score between 0-3 to determine how uncomfortable they have felt "over the past week, including the day of the application". The scale scores between 0-63. The high total score indicates the high level of anxiety experienced by the person
Two week
Piper Fatigue Scale
Time Frame: Two week
Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS): The PFS consists of 22 questions and evaluates fatigue perception subjectively. It has four sub-dimensions: the behavior/severity sub-dimension, which evaluates the effect and severity of fatigue on daily life activities; the affective sub-dimension, which covers the emotional meaning attributed to fatigue; the sensory sub-dimension, which reflects the mental, physical and emotional symptoms of fatigue; and the cognitive/spiritual sub-dimension, which reflects the degree to which fatigue affects cognitive functions and mood. The total score of the scale varies between 0 and 10. A score of 0 indicates no fatigue, 1-3 indicates mild fatigue, 4-6 indicates moderate fatigue, and 7-10 indicates severe fatigue.
Two week
Numerical pain scale
Time Frame: Two week
Numerical pain scale: The numerical pain scale is a one-dimensional scale and the expressions "no pain" and "unbearable pain" are located at both ends of the figure. There are values between 0-10 on the scale at equal intervals and the patient marks them according to the level of pain.The scale scores between 0-10. The high total score indicates the high pain level experienced by the person.
Two week

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

August 19, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 10, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

May 11, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 23, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 23, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

September 25, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 14, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 11, 2025

Last Verified

May 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • AmasyaU-NU-689

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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