References
Effect of progressive muscle relaxation with analgesic on anxiety status and pain in surgical patients
Abstract
Introduction:
surgery is a stressful experience for patients and most surgical patients have some degree of anxiety. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a relaxation technique in addition to narcotic analgesic on health promotion in surgical patients.
Methods:
in this clinical trial, 70 patients who were candidates for elective upper and lower gastrointestinal system surgery were selected. They were randomly divided into two groups: case (morphine 0.15 mg/kg daily in divided doses and progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)) and control (morphine 0.15 mg/kg daily in divided doses). In each patient, the PMR intervention would be performed for 20 minutes every 6 hours for 2 days until 2 hours before the operation. Vital signs and anxiety were evaluated in the two groups after surgery. Data were analysed by t-test, analysis of variance, and chi-square test.
Results:
a statistically significant difference was seen in vital signs, pain and anxiety between the two groups. However, there was also a significant difference between them in terms of economic status and insurance coverage, which could have had an effect on stress and anxiety.
Conclusion:
PMR could increase the pain threshold, stress and anxiety tolerance and adaptation level in surgical patients. Therefore, using this technique could be an appropriate way to reduce analgesic drug consumption.
Surgery is a stressful experience for patients, affecting their physiological and psychosocial status (Arora et al, 2010). Study findings indicate that fear of the unknown and of postoperative pain, concerns about anaesthesia, or unintentional movements in unconsciousness, are some of the factors leading to stress and anxiety in surgical patients (Usichenko et al, 2013). Other concerns could be a potential diagnosis of cancer, loss of an organ or limb, and even death. Surgery can prompt concerns regarding loss of occupation and financial safety, changes in social and family roles, disturbance in lifestyle and separation from relatives (Usichenko et al, 2013).
Anxiety affects all biological, psychological, and social domains and also the ways in which human needs are satisfied (Kashdan and Rottenberg, 2010; Shahbazi et al, 2016; De Souza et al, 2017). It causes the heart rate and blood pressure to escalate, which could lead to postoperative complications such as aggravation of renal function and also increased metabolism and oxygen intake (Ghafari et al, 2015; Baradaran, 2017). High levels of anxiety intensify the perceived pain (McEwen et al, 2012), so stressful factors could intensify patient anxiety and, as a result, reduce pain tolerance (Wanzer et al, 2004).
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