Could a simple treadmill trick help COPD patients breathe better?
NCT ID NCT07627035
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether a treadmill workout that combines walking downhill (eccentric) and uphill (concentric) is better than standard uphill walking for people with mild to moderate COPD. Forty participants will do 12 exercise sessions over 4 weeks. Researchers will measure leg strength, lung function, and quality of life to see if the combined approach offers extra benefits.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- treadmill exercise program combining downhill (eccentric) and uphill (concentric) walking
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a better exercise routine to help people with COPD breathe easier and move better in daily life.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial with only 40 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The exercise program is short (4 weeks), and benefits might not last long-term.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 40 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Sep 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: • Subjects \>18 years old. * Present with dyspnea grade 2-3 on the mMRC scale. * Sufficient cognitive and functional level to understand, learn, and carry out the exercise program. * No contraindications to physical training. * Active participants. Exclusion Criteria: • Recent cardiovascular events such as congestive heart failure, angioplasty or cardiac surgery within the last four weeks, valvular abnormalities requiring surgical correction, myopericarditis, or exercise-induced ventricular arrhythmias. * Renal failure requiring dialysis. * Patients with uncontrolled bronchospasm due to intrinsic asthma. * Patients undergoing chemotherapy after surgery. * Severe exercise intolerance due to untreated cardiac arrhythmias, ischemia during low-intensity exercise (unstable angina), severe pulmonary hypertension, or heart failure (NYHA class III or IV). * Pulmonary embolism with anticoagulant therapy for less than 5 days.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Hospital Ramón y Cajal
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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