# Increasing Physical Activity in COPD Through Rhythmically Enhanced Music

> **NIH VA I01** · EDWARD HINES JR VA HOSPITAL · 2020 · —

## Abstract

Rationale: In COPD, hospital-based pulmonary rehabilitation can improve symptoms, functional status, and
quality of life and decrease unscheduled physician visits, emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and possibly,
mortality. Despite the well documented efficacy, hospital-based rehab remains inadequate due to insufficient
access, acceptance and sustainability. This has triggered a growing interest in home-based rehab programs.
Patients enrolled in home-based programs, however, may exercise at low intensities to avoid dyspnea/fatigue,
limiting the potential benefits of exercise training. Accordingly, it is essential to develop innovative home-based
programs that decrease exercise-induced dyspnea and fatigue while ensuring sufficient exercise intensity to
produce sustainable physiologic benefit. Recent data suggest that rhythmically enhanced stimulation (RAS)
using music may constitute such an innovative strategy. Music can diminish exercise-induced dyspnea/fatigue
allowing patients to tolerate more challenging physical activity and obtain a greater benefit from rehab. Music
also can induce entrainment of motor responses such as walking. We thus plan to capitalize on both the
sensorimotor coupling of gait with RAS-enhanced music and the mitigating effect of music over exercise-induced
dyspnea/fatigue. Specifically, we propose to compare the efficacy of a 12-week, home-based exercise program
augmented by patient-tailored, RAS-enhanced music to a 12-week traditional home-based exercise program in
patients with COPD. Hypothesis: (H1) Compared to patients randomized to a home-based, exercise program
without music (control group), patients randomized to a home-based, exercise program augmented with RAS-
enhanced music (intervention group) will demonstrate (H1a, primary hypothesis) greater increase in 6-minute
walk distance, (H1b) greater increase in walking time on a constant-load treadmill test protocol, (H1c) reduced
dyspnea during a constant-load treadmill test protocol, and (H1d) greater increases in health-related quality of
life. In addition (H2), they will accumulate greater volume of physical activity (actigraphy) and (H3) will better
sustain these benefits over time. Lastly (Explorative Objective), we will assess the mechanistic impact
physiological and psychological phenotype and clinical factors on responsiveness to rehabilitation (duration
constant-load treadmill test) achieved with and without concurrent use of RAS-music. Methods: The proposed
study is a randomized, controlled clinical trial in which 170 patients will be randomized into a home-based,
exercise program without music or a home-based exercise program augmented with RAS-enhanced music.
Patients will receive 12-weeks of home-based training per group assignment (at least three times weekly) followed
by 12-weeks of follow-up to assess the sustainability of our novel intervention. Testing will be carried out at
baseline and at 6, 12 and 24 weeks. Testing will include pulmonary f...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9816581
- **Project number:** 5I01RX002803-02
- **Recipient organization:** EDWARD HINES JR VA HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Franco Laghi
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-10-01 → 2022-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9816581

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9816581, Increasing Physical Activity in COPD Through Rhythmically Enhanced Music (5I01RX002803-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9816581. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*