Diaphragmatic breathing exercise for low back ache. A study protocol

The effect of an intervention should justify the treatment costs, possible risks, and complications. The main objective is to establish the effect of diaphragmatic breathing exercise for the management of low back ache and to gain insights into how different attributes of treatment are used when choosing diaphragmatic breathing exercise. Stage I includes a mixed methods study conducted to establish and prioritize a list of characteristics that influence choices for those considering breathing exercise for the treatment of low back ache. Individual interviews and consensus groups with various practitioners, such as manual therapists, chiropractors, and other therapists, along with patients, will be conducted. Interviews and consensus groups will be voice recorded and transcribed verbatim. Stage II includes a choice experiment conducted among people with low back ache who have limited or no experience with diaphragmatic breathing exercise. Participants will be recruited online. The review will consist of several choice sets with characteristics and points established from Stage I. The choice experiment will be preceded by a short survey to understand the clinical presentation, history, and previous treatments, as well as sociodemographic characteristics of the participants.