Efficacy of abbreviated progressive muscle relaxation in a high-stress college sample.

Abstract

This study's purpose was to examine the efficacy of abbreviated progressive muscle relaxation (APMR) to enhance physiological and psychological functioning among high-stress college students. Participants (N = 128) were undergraduates, 19 years old on average, predominantly female and White, with high Perceived Stress Scale scores. After random assignment, for 20 min, 66 experimental group participants underwent APMR lying down and 62 control group participants lied down quietly. Pre- and postintervention measures included the Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scale, relaxation items, electrocardiograph heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV), and salivary cortisol. Compared with the control group, the experimental group demonstrated significantly greater increases in mental (Cohen's d = 0.32) and physical (Cohen's d = 0.32) relaxation, and normalized high-frequency HRV (Cohen's d = 0.29), and decreases in low- to high-frequency HRV ratio (Cohen's d = 0.31). Small effect sizes were observed for anxiety, normalized low-frequency HRV, and cortisol. Analyses of the reliability and clinical significance of these changes indicate trends in the expected direction. These findings indicate an APMR intervention can have significant short-term effects, both reducing detrimental and enhancing beneficial functioning in high-stress college students.

Étude de validation du programme Funambule : pour une gestion équilibrée du stress des adolescents

“…Deuxièmement, les exercices portant sur le travail sur le corps ont favorisé une plus grande utilisation des techniques de relaxation respiratoire et musculaire, sans qu'on ait eu à enseigner aux élèves l'observation systématique de ses propres sensations corporelles, sans les changer ou les juger, comme cela est pratiqué dans la « pleine conscience ». Or, l'efficacité des techniques de relaxation et de détente issues de la deuxième génération de la TCC, qui a inspiré les exercices dans Funambule, a souvent été démontrée auprès de personnes souffrant de stress et d'anxiété (Dolbier et Rush, 2012;Kanji et Ernst, 2008, cité dans Servant, 2009.…”

The effect of progressive muscle relaxation on daily cortisol secretion

“…Heavy academic demands and the need to forge novel social networks can for some be huge stressors (Dolbier & Rush 2012), creating worrying rates anxiety and depression. Therefore, apart from convenience, there are reasons that may make this a suitable population for this investigation.…”

“…Most typically, such studies (e.g. Dolbier & Rush 2012;Pawlow & Jones 2002;Pawlow & Jones 2005) have chosen to examine the acute effects of APMR on 'spot' cortisol levels assessed immediately before and after brief APMR sessions, sometimes even a single session. While such findings have generally been positive and supportive of APMR efficacy, there is a need to examine changes in cortisol measures chosen to provide stable and comparable estimates of average cortisol secretion prevailing over a meaningful period of time before and after intervention using multiple cortisol sampling over time.…”

The Influence of Progressive Muscle Relaxation on Anxiety Level of Pre-Caesarean Section Mothers in Delivery Room

“…Ketegangan fisiologis sebaliknya akan meningkatkan pengalaman subjektif terhadap kecemasan, dengan merelaksasikan otot maka akan menurunkan ketegangan fisiologis yang pada akhirnya akan menurunkan kecemasan (Uskenat, Kristiyawati & Solechan, 2012). Hal ini diperkuat Dolbier & Rush (2012) yang menyatakan bahwa terapi relaksasi otot progresif dapat menurunkan kecemasan dalam periode waktu tertentu maupun dalam mengatasi suatu kejadian kecemasan yang singkat. Terapi relaksasi otot progresif dapat mengatasi kecemasan melalui aspek kognitif dan fisik (somatik) serta memberikan efek relaksasi sehingga selain dapat menurunkan kecemasan juga dapat meningkatkan status fisik dan psikologis klien (McCloghan et al, 2015).…”