Physiological and Subjective Assessments of Passive Muscle Relaxation Intervention in Cancer Patients

Abstract

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of passive muscle relaxation (PMR) in cancer patients based on physiological and subjective assessments.
Methods: Eight cancer patients received PMR intervention for 3 days. Their systolic and diastolic blood pressure and pulse rate were measured before and after the intervention. Additionally, the patients were interviewed after the intervention and the data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and content analysis.
Results: The analysis revealed a significant reduction in pulse rate (p<.05) on the first day of the intervention. In terms of the experience of performing PMR, 8 categories were reported on the first day and 11 on the third day, of which [The feeling of relaxation] and [Feeling refreshed] were reported most frequently. Categories such as [Improvement in sleep onset] and [Relaxation of tension] were reported only on the third day. Further, the recorded frequency decreased for [Difficulty of performing the technique] and it increased for [Ease of performing the technique] on the third day.
Conclusion: These results suggest that cancer patients' tension was relieved by performing PMR for 3 days.