Basic Body Awareness Therapy for Healthy Young Adults

NCT07652086 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: SBUBBAT
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 40
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Background: Musculoskeletal pain, impaired postural control, and reduced movement quality are increasingly observed among young adults, partly due to sedentary lifestyles and insufficient physical activity. Basic Body Awareness Therapy (BBAT) is a physiotherapy-based mind-body approach designed to enhance body awareness, movement quality, balance, and postural stability through controlled functional movements. Although BBAT has demonstrated beneficial effects in various clinical populations, evidence regarding its effectiveness in healthy young adults remains limited. Objective:This study aims to investigate the effects of a 12-week BBAT program on balance, musculoskeletal pain, spinal mobility, and flexibility in healthy young adults. Methods:This randomized controlled trial will be conducted at the Healthy Living Laboratory of the University of Health Sciences, Gülhane Faculty of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, between June 2026 and May 2027. Healthy individuals aged 18-40 years will be recruited through voluntary participation and social media announcements. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a BBAT intervention group or a control group. The intervention group will participate in supervised BBAT sessions once weekly for 12 weeks, with each session lasting 45-60 minutes, while the control group will receive no intervention. Eligible participants will be individuals aged 18-40 years who have not participated in structured body-awareness-based exercise programs, such as BBAT, yoga, or Pilates, within the previous six months and who are able to complete all assessment procedures independently. Individuals with neurological, vestibular, rheumatological, or severe orthopedic disorders, recent surgery or injury affecting the spine or lower extremities, pregnancy, acute infection, or medication use affecting balance will be excluded. Spinal mobility and flexibility will be the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcomes will include musculoskeletal pain and balance. Assessments will be performed before and after the intervention period.

Conditions

Young Healthy Adults

Keywords

Basic body awareness therapy; healthy young adult; pain; balance; mobility

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Spinal mobility

  Spinal mobility will be assessed using the Spinal Mouse® system (Idiag AG, Fehraltorf, Switzerland). Measurements will be obtained in neutral standing, maximal flexion, maximal extension, and maximal lateral flexion positions. Two measurements will be recorded for each position, and the average value will be used for analysis.

  Baseline and Week 12

• Flexibility

  Flexibility of the lumbar region and lower extremities will be evaluated using the Sit-and-Reach Test. Participants will perform three trials, and the best score (cm) will be recorded for analysis.

  Baseline and Week 12

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Musculoskeletal pain

  Baseline and Week 12

• Balance

  Baseline and Week 12

Study Arms (2)

Control

NO INTERVENTION

The control group will be assessed for spinal mobility, flexibility, musculoskeletal pain, and balance at baseline and following a 12-week follow-up period. Participants in this group will not receive any intervention throughout the study.

Exercise

EXPERIMENTAL

The intervention group will participate in supervised BBAT sessions once weekly for 12 weeks, with each session lasting 45-60 minutes. BBAT exercises include; Grounding Postural balance Co-ordination Breathing Flow Mental awareness

Other: Exercise

Interventions

Exercise OTHER

Participants allocated to the intervention group will receive a 12-week Basic Body Awareness Therapy (BBAT) program. The intervention will be delivered once weekly on the same day and at the same time each week, with each session lasting approximately 45-60 minutes. The BBAT program will consist of structured exercises performed in supine, sitting, and standing positions, focusing on postural alignment, muscle activation and relaxation, breathing awareness, weight transfer, balance control, and movement quality. Individual and partner-based exercises will be used to enhance body awareness, postural stability, and coordinated movement patterns. All sessions will be supervised and conducted by a physiotherapist who has completed BBAT Level III training. Participants will be encouraged to perform the movements with attention to body awareness, balance, breathing, and movement efficiency throughout the intervention period.

Exercise

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 40 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Age between 18 and 40 years.
• Ability to walk independently without assistive devices.
• No participation in structured body-awareness-based exercise programs (e.g., Basic Body Awareness Therapy, yoga, or Pilates) within the previous 6 months.
• Ability to understand study procedures and comply with assessment protocols.
• Willingness to participate and provision of written informed consent.

You may not qualify if:

• History of neurological, vestibular, rheumatologic, or severe orthopedic disorders that may affect movement, balance, or mobility.
• History of spinal or lower-extremity surgery or musculoskeletal injury within the previous 6 months.
• Severe musculoskeletal pain limiting participation in assessments or intervention sessions.
• Pregnancy.
• Current use of medications known to affect balance, postural control, or motor performance.
• Presence of acute infection or other acute medical conditions at the time of enrollment.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Özge ÇANKAYA: lead
• Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Health Sciences

Ankara, 06100, Turkey (Türkiye)

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Pain

Interventions

Exercise

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena

Study Officials

• Özge Çankaya

  Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Özge Çankaya, PhD

CONTACT

+905053732255; ozgemuezzinoglu@gmail.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 8, 2026
• First Posted: June 16, 2026
• Study Start: June 15, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 15, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 15, 2027
• Last Updated: July 15, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

TU (1)