The effect of progressive muscle relaxation on anxiety and sleep quality in burn patients: A randomized clinical trial

Abstract

Background and objectives: Burn patients experience a high level of anxiety and poor sleep quality due to their special physical and psychological conditions. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of progressive muscle relaxation on anxiety and sleep quality in burn patients.

Methodology and participants: In this randomized controlled clinical trial, a total of 80 patients admitted to burn ward were enrolled using convenient sampling and randomly assigned to one of the experimental or control groups. In the experimental group, patients were intervened using Jacobson's relaxation technique 20-30min daily for three consecutive days. During this period, the control group received only routine care and treatment. Patients' anxiety and their sleep quality were measured and recorded before and after the intervention using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and St Mary's Hospital Sleep Quality Questionnaire (SMHSQ) respectively. Eventually, data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 20.0 software (IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y., USA).

Results: The findings of the present study showed a statistically significant decrease in anxiety and improvement in sleep quality in the experimental group compared to the control group (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Relaxation as a complementary method can be used along with modern medicine to reduce anxiety and improve sleep quality in burn patients.

Keywords: Anxiety; Burn; Relaxation; Sleep quality.