Effects of progressive muscle relaxation on state anxiety and subjective well-being in people with schizophrenia: a randomized controlled trial

Objective: To examine the efficacy of a single progressive muscle relaxation session compared with a control condition on state anxiety, psychological stress, fatigue and subjective well-being in patients with schizophrenia.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Setting: An acute inpatient care unit of an University Psychiatric Centre.

Subjects: Sixty-four out of 88 eligible patients with schizophrenia.

Interventions: Patients were randomly assigned to either a single progressive muscle relaxation session during 25 minutes or a resting control condition with the opportunity to read for an equal amount of time.

Main outcome measures: Before and after the single interventions the State anxiety inventory and the Subjective exercise experiences scale were completed. Effect sizes were calculated.

Results: Only within progressive muscle relaxation, participants (n=27) showed decreased state anxiety, psychological stress and fatigue and increased subjective well-being. Between-group differences in post scores were found for state anxiety, subjective well-being and psychological stress, but not for fatigue. The effect size favouring progressive muscle relaxation was 1.26 for subjective well-being and −1.25 and −1.02 for respectively state anxiety and psychological stress.

Conclusions: Progressive muscle relaxation is highly effective in reducing acute feelings of stress and anxiety in patients with schizophrenia. A reduction in stress and state anxiety is associated with an increase in subjective well-being.