Can foot baths help with lung disease? UBCO researchers are looking into it

Researchers at the UBC Okanagan in Kelowna are looking for people to help answer a question that might seem unorthodox. Can warm foot baths help people with lung disease?

UBCO’s Integrative Clinical Cardiopulmonary Laboratory is looking for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, to participate in a six-week study, according to a press release from the university. 

“Prolonged footbath use may have similar health benefits to exercise, such as reduced risk of heart disease or stroke, and better oxygen delivery to the lungs,” doctoral student researcher Kyla Coates said in the release. 

Coates said the research could help patients who can still exercise, and those who can’t. 

“If effective, this therapy could be used in addition to exercise, or instead of exercise, to improve a patient’s symptoms, health and longevity,” Coates said.

The study is building on the lab’s previous research that found one session of submerging lower legs in water can reduce blood pressure the same way that walking or light exercise can. 

The idea is to have participants take a 45-minute foot bath at home three times a week using hot or warm water. The study is set to run for six weeks and participants would need to come to the lab three times to test their blood vessels and heart with an ultrasound. 

At the beginning and end of the study, participants’ blood pressure would also be monitored with a 24-hour ambulatory device, a portable device that typically measures blood pressure at regular intervals throughout the day. 

The study would run into the summer of 2026, but the goal is to sign up volunteers but the new year.

To volunteer for the study, or learn more about it, send an email to Kyla Coates at kylac01@student.ubc.ca.