The Effects of Progressive Relaxation Exercises following Lumbar Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Effects of progressive muscle relaxation exercises on patients with epilepsy on level of depression, quality of sleep, and quality of life: A randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to evaluate the effects of progressive relaxation exercises applied to patients with epilepsy on patients' depressive symptom severity, quality of sleep, and quality of life.

METHODS

The study was designed as a randomized controlled interventional study with a control group and pre-and post-test intervention. It was conducted with 70 patients with epilepsy, 35 in the intervention group and 35 in the control group, between November 1, 2021, and April 15, 2022. The patients in the intervention group were required to perform 12 progressive muscle relaxation exercise sessions 3 days a week for a total of 4 weeks. No interventions were made in the control group during the study. The data were collected with a "Personal Information Form," "Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)," "Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)," and "Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory (QUOLIE -31)."

RESULTS

The mean PSQI total score, subscale scores, and mean BDI total scores of the patients in the intervention group decreased significantly compared to those in the control group after the intervention (p<0.05). Additionally, a significant difference was found between the mean QUOLIE-31 total scores and subscale scores of the patients in the intervention and control group after the intervention (p<0.05), the mean scores of the intervention group were significantly higher than those of the control group (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Progressive muscle relaxation exercises decreased depressive symptoms severity and improved sleep and life quality in patients with epilepsy. Progressive relaxation exercises may be recommended as a complementary nursing intervention in treating epilepsy.

How Can we Improve the Comfort Level and Sleep Quality After Surgery?

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of progressive relaxation exercises on the comfort level and sleep quality of patients undergoing lumbar disc herniation surgery.

METHODS

The study was conducted between July 2015 and October 2016 in the neurosurgery clinic. The sample consisted of 96 patients (n = 56, experimental patients; n = 40 control patients) randomized into groups. The data was collected by using the personal information form, The Perianesthesia Comfort Questionnaire, The General Comfort Questionnaire and Visual Analog Sleep Scale.

FINDINGS

In the postoperative General Comfort Scale that there was a statistically significant difference between the mean of the control group and experimental group on the final test (P < .05). When the Visual Analog Sleep Scale mean of the experimental and control group patients were compared between the groups, there was a statistically significant difference on the postoperative 2nd day and 3rd day (P < .05).

CONCLUSION

This study supports previous work that progressive relaxation exercises are feasible and effective to improve patient comfort levels after lumbar disc surgery.

Chinese Association for the Study of Pain: Expert consensus on diagnosis and treatment for lumbar disc herniation

Lumbar disc herniation is a common disease in the clinical context and does great harm to either the physical or mental health of patients suffering from this disease. Many guidelines and consensus for the diagnosis and treatment of lumbar disc herniation have been published domestically and internationally. According to the expert consensus, clinicians could adopt tailored and personalized diagnosis and treatment management strategies for lumbar disc herniation patients.