Pulmonary RehabilitationAPRacketNCT07430943
Feasibility of Integrating Street Racket Into Ambulatory Pulmonary Rehabilitation
A study testing Street Racket in people with Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Physical Activities, run by Mona Lichtblau at 2 sites in Switzerland.
Trial summary
This study looks at whether Street Racket is a feasable activity that can be added to pulmonary rehabilitation for people with chronic lung disease. Participants complete short questionnaires at the start and end of the program to rate the feasibility and rate their breathlessness during each session. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Any age
- Conditions the study is for
- Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Physical Activities, Exercise Therapy
- What is being tested?
- Street Racket
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 12 participants
- Where
- 2 sitesSwitzerland
- Study dates
- 5 Mar 2026to 28 Feb 2027
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages Any age
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Any sex or gender
- Age >18 years
- Prescribed APR by a physician and currently participating in APR at the USZ
- Physically and psychologically capable of following instructions and standing/walking for up to one hour (short, seated breaks are allowed if needed)
Who cannot join
- Require supplemental oxygen therapy that cannot be delivered via a portable backpack system (e.g., large oxygen cylinders on wheels, which pose a fall risk)
- Are unable to follow study procedures due to language barriers, psychological conditions, or orthopaedic limitations that prevent them from standing or walking for up to one hour
- Require walking aids due to impaired balance (e.g., walking sticks, rollator, etc.)
Trial locations and contacts
2 sites in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Switzerland2 sites, 2 recruiting
- Not yet recruiting
Consultant Clinic of Pulmonology, University Hospital of Zurich
Zurich, 8091
Mona Lichtblau, PD Dr. med., +41 442552220, mona.lichtblau@usz.ch
Carmen Wick, Cand. PhD, +41 43 253 44 05, carmen.wick@usz.ch
- Recruiting
Consultant Clinic of Pulmonology, University Hospital of Zurich
Zurich, 8091
Mona Lichtblau, PD Dr. med., +41 442552220, mona.lichtblau@usz.ch
Carmen Wick, Cand. PhD, +41 43 253 44 05, carmen.wick@usz.ch
About this study
Official title: Acceptability, Appropriateness and Feasibility of Integrating Street Racket Into Ambulatory Pulmonary Rehabilitation: A Prospective, Single-Arm Feasibility Study
This study looks at whether Street Racket is a feasable activity that can be added to pulmonary rehabilitation for people with chronic lung disease. Participants complete short questionnaires at the start and end of the program to rate the feasibility and rate their breathlessness during each session. Attendance is recorded to understand how well the activity is used and whether there are any barriers.
Read the detailed description
Pulmonary rehabilitation (APR) is an effective and cost-efficient treatment for people with chronic lung diseases, as it can reduce hospital admissions and improve health. Despite this, many patients do not take part or drop out early. Common reasons include low motivation, difficulty attending sessions, or fear that the exercises are too demanding.
Street Racket is a simple, playful, and flexible form of physical activity that may help overcome these barriers. It is easy to adapt, enjoyable in a group setting, and similar in intensity to existing pulmonary rehabilitation exercises. Social and team-based activities like Street Racket may also have positive effects on mental well-being.
The study aims to assess how feasible the activity is, how well it is accepted by participants, and whether it can offer a more engaging and sustainable training option within APR.
Participation in Street Racket sessions is voluntary and possible with or without study participation. For those who take part in the study, the training itself is exactly the same as for non-participants. The only difference is the additional data collection.
Participants are asked to complete a short questionnaire after their first and last Street Racket session about how appropriate and feasible the activity feels. During each session, participants also rate their average and maximum breathlessness. Attendance is recorded, and if someone is absent, the reason is noted when known.
In addition, routinely collected data from pulmonary rehabilitation-such as diagnosis, medication, and standard clinical test results-are analyzed.
Training sessions are adapted to group size and ability level and usually consist of several short playing intervals with breaks and a cool-down. The activity can be modified to match different fitness levels, allowing people with varying physical capacities to participate together.
Study participation ends automatically when the pulmonary rehabilitation program is completed.
- Being tested
- Street Racket
- Keywords
- pulmonary rehabilitation, street racket, exercise therapy, COPD, ILD, pulmonary hypertension
- Medical subject headings
- Motor Activity, Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive, Hypertension, Pulmonary
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Street RacketOther
Street racket will be offered as an additional, optional training once session for patients once every two weeks within the ambulatory pulmonary rehabilitation program. The session begins with a 10-minute warm-up led by a physiotherapist, followed by 45 minutes of street racket play. The content of each session will be adapted based on group size and the playing level of the participants. A typical session structure consists of four intervals of 8 minutes of play, each separated by 2-minute breaks, and concludes with 5 minutes of cool-down. Depending on the patients need the training protocol can be adapted, for instance to include more cognitive or balance elements
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Street Racket Arm | Experimental | Street Racket is a ball-and-racket game played on the ground without a net. It resembles table tennis or tennis but is highly flexible, allowing for various playing formats and easy adaptation to individual abilities. Receives: Other: Street Racket |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Acceptability, appropriateness and feasibility of Street Racket
The primary endpoints acceptability, appropriateness and feasibility will be assessed using patient reported outcomes with the Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM), Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM), \& Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM). These instruments have demonstrated strong psychometric properties and will collectively be referred to as the AAF questionnaire. The validated German translation of the AAF, which has also shown reliable and valid psychometric properties will be used in this study.
The AAF questionnaire comprises three sections-Acceptability, Appropriateness, and Feasibility-each containing four questions rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree). Scores for each section will be calculated as the mean of the four responses.
A mean score above 12 in each section will be considered indicative of a positive result.
Measured: Each at the first training and at the end of the pulmonary rehabilitation (after max. 3 months).
Secondary outcomes (6)
Incidence of Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events (Safety and Tolerability)
Number and type of adverse events as defined as (serious) adverse events.
Measured: After each street racket session, from enrollment until termination of ambulatory pulmonary rehabilitation (max 3 months).
Adherance rate
Percentage of attended sessions, Documented reasons for non-attendance
Measured: After each street racket session, from enrollment until termination of ambulatory pulmonary rehabilitation (max 3 months).
Drop-out rate
Drop-out rate in %, categorized reasons for withdrawal (e.g. medical, motivation, logistics, time)
Measured: After each street racket session, from enrollment until termination of ambulatory pulmonary rehabilitation (max 3 months).
Perceived dyspnea
After each session the participants will be asked to assess their peak dyspnea level and mean dyspnea level during the session on the modified Borg scale ranging from 0 (no dyspnea) to 10 (maximal dyspnea), which will be recorded on their personal log book.
Measured: After each street racket session, from enrollment until termination of ambulatory pulmonary rehabilitation (max 3 months).
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)
The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) has been proven to be reliable and valid in assessing anxiety and depression in healthy as well as clinical populations and older adults from 65 to 80 years although showing ceiling effects. Change in HADS (baseline to post intervention) to explore psychological wellbeing. The HADS is a routinely used questionnaire and is required to be filled out by every patient at the start and end of ambulatory pulmoanry rehabilitation.
The HADS consists of two domains, one for anxiety and one for depression. In each domain a sum of the questions is calculated ranging from 0-21 where 0-7 indicates normal, 8-10 mild symptoms and 11-21 moderate to severe symptoms.
Measured: After each street racket session, from enrollment until termination of ambulatory pulmonary rehabilitation (max 3 months).
Qualitative Participant Feedback
To gather patient feedback, understand barriers and facilitators as well as improving the Intervention and meet patients' needs, two open-ended questions will be added at the end of the AAF.
- "What suggestions do you have for improve Street Racket for APR?"
- "What feedback would you like to give us on Street Racket?"
Measured: After each street racket session, from enrollment until termination of ambulatory pulmonary rehabilitation (max 3 months).
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted24 Feb 2026
- Study start5 Mar 2026
- Primary completion28 Feb 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion28 Feb 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Pulmonary RehabilitationStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 12 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Mona Lichtblau
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor-investigator, Mona Lichtblau, University of Zurich
- Investigators
- Mona Lichtblau, Principal investigator, University of Zurich
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07430943
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- APRacket
- Acronym
- APRacket
- Status last verified
- Mar 2026
- First submitted
- 18 Feb 2026
- Last updated
- 12 Mar 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided: Anonymized individual participant data (IPD) are planned to be shared via an appropriate data repository, such as Zenodo. Corresponding standard operating procedures (SOPs) for our department are currently under development.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 12 Mar 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Acceptability, Appropriateness and Feasibility of Integrating Street Racket Into Ambulatory Pulmonary Rehabilitation: A Prospective, Single-Arm Feasibility Study
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07430943
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- APRacket / APRacket
- Keywords
- pulmonary rehabilitation, street racket, exercise therapy, COPD, ILD, pulmonary hypertension
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 12 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Mona LichtblauUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 5 Mar 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 28 Feb 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 28 Feb 2027 (estimated)
- First posted
- 24 Feb 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study looks at whether Street Racket is a feasable activity that can be added to pulmonary rehabilitation for people with chronic lung disease. Participants complete short questionnaires at the start and end of the program to rate the feasibility and rate their breathlessness during each session. Attendance is recorded to understand how well the activity is used and whether there are any barriers.
Detailed description
Pulmonary rehabilitation (APR) is an effective and cost-efficient treatment for people with chronic lung diseases, as it can reduce hospital admissions and improve health. Despite this, many patients do not take part or drop out early. Common reasons include low motivation, difficulty attending sessions, or fear that the exercises are too demanding.
Street Racket is a simple, playful, and flexible form of physical activity that may help overcome these barriers. It is easy to adapt, enjoyable in a group setting, and similar in intensity to existing pulmonary rehabilitation exercises. Social and team-based activities like Street Racket may also have positive effects on mental well-being.
The study aims to assess how feasible the activity is, how well it is accepted by participants, and whether it can offer a more engaging and sustainable training option within APR.
Participation in Street Racket sessions is voluntary and possible with or without study participation. For those who take part in the study, the training itself is exactly the same as for non-participants. The only difference is the additional data collection.
Participants are asked to complete a short questionnaire after their first and last Street Racket session about how appropriate and feasible the activity feels. During each session, participants also rate their average and maximum breathlessness. Attendance is recorded, and if someone is absent, the reason is noted when known.
In addition, routinely collected data from pulmonary rehabilitation-such as diagnosis, medication, and standard clinical test results-are analyzed.
Training sessions are adapted to group size and ability level and usually consist of several short playing intervals with breaks and a cool-down. The activity can be modified to match different fitness levels, allowing people with varying physical capacities to participate together.
Study participation ends automatically when the pulmonary rehabilitation program is completed.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Street Racket Arm | Experimental | Other: Street RacketStreet Racket is a ball-and-racket game played on the ground without a net. It resembles table tennis or tennis but is highly flexible, allowing for various playing formats and easy adaptation to individual abilities. |
Who may qualify
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Any sex or gender
- Age >18 years
- Prescribed APR by a physician and currently participating in APR at the USZ
- Physically and psychologically capable of following instructions and standing/walking for up to one hour (short, seated breaks are allowed if needed)
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Require supplemental oxygen therapy that cannot be delivered via a portable backpack system (e.g., large oxygen cylinders on wheels, which pose a fall risk)
- Are unable to follow study procedures due to language barriers, psychological conditions, or orthopaedic limitations that prevent them from standing or walking for up to one hour
- Require walking aids due to impaired balance (e.g., walking sticks, rollator, etc.)
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Street RacketStreet racket will be offered as an additional, optional training once session for patients once every two weeks within the ambulatory pulmonary rehabilitation program. The session begins with a 10-minute warm-up led by a physiotherapist, followed by 45 minutes of street racket play. The content of each session will be adapted based on group size and the playing level of the participants. A typical session structure consists of four intervals of 8 minutes of play, each separated by 2-minute breaks, and concludes with 5 minutes of cool-down. Depending on the patients need the training protocol can be adapted, for instance to include more cognitive or balance elements | Other | Street Racket Arm |
Primary outcome
Acceptability, appropriateness and feasibility of Street Racket
Time frame: Each at the first training and at the end of the pulmonary rehabilitation (after max. 3 months).
The primary endpoints acceptability, appropriateness and feasibility will be assessed using patient reported outcomes with the Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM), Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM), \& Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM). These instruments have demonstrated strong psychometric properties and will collectively be referred to as the AAF questionnaire. The validated German translation of the AAF, which has also shown reliable and valid psychometric properties will be used in this study. The AAF questionnaire comprises three sections-Acceptability, Appropriateness, and Feasibility-each containing four questions rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Completely disagree, 5 = Completely agree). Scores for each section will be calculated as the mean of the four responses. A mean score above 12 in each section will be considered indicative of a positive result.
6 secondary outcomes
Incidence of Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events (Safety and Tolerability)
Time frame: After each street racket session, from enrollment until termination of ambulatory pulmonary rehabilitation (max 3 months).
Adherance rate
Time frame: After each street racket session, from enrollment until termination of ambulatory pulmonary rehabilitation (max 3 months).
Drop-out rate
Time frame: After each street racket session, from enrollment until termination of ambulatory pulmonary rehabilitation (max 3 months).
Perceived dyspnea
Time frame: After each street racket session, from enrollment until termination of ambulatory pulmonary rehabilitation (max 3 months).
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)
Time frame: After each street racket session, from enrollment until termination of ambulatory pulmonary rehabilitation (max 3 months).
Qualitative Participant Feedback
Time frame: After each street racket session, from enrollment until termination of ambulatory pulmonary rehabilitation (max 3 months).
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 12 Mar 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided. Anonymized individual participant data (IPD) are planned to be shared via an appropriate data repository, such as Zenodo. Corresponding standard operating procedures (SOPs) for our department are currently under development.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Mona Lichtblau principal investigator
University of Zurich
2 sites in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Street Racket in people with Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Physical Activities, run by Mona Lichtblau at 2 sites in Switzerland.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 12 Mar 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 2 sites in Switzerland. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Mona Lichtblau, PD Dr. med. (+41 442552220, mona.lichtblau@usz.ch), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Acceptability, appropriateness and feasibility of Street Racket (time frame: Each at the first training and at the end of the pulmonary rehabilitation (after max. 3 months).). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 12 Mar 2026.