Complementary Approach for Multiple Sclerosis Patients: Safety and Efficacy of Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises. An Exploratory Study

Objective: Stress, fatigue, depression, and anxiety negatively impact quality of life in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).Conventional treatments often offer limited relief and may increase patients' distress.In response to interest in complementary approaches, we explored the safety and potential benefits of Tension Releasing Exercises (T.R.E.), a mind-body technique aimed at reducing deep muscular tension linked to chronic stress or trauma.Methods: Twenty RRMS patients participated in a two-month intervention involving 24 T.R.E.sessions (three per week).Demographic, neurological, and clinical data were collected before and after the intervention.Outcome measures included MusiQoL, SF-36, fatigue severity, anxiety, depression, and treatment burden.Statistical analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS v23, with Mann-Whitney U tests and Benjamini-Hochberg correction.Significance was set at p<0.05.Results: Eighteen participants were women (mean age 43 10 years), with a median disease duration of 7 years and EDSS of 1 (range 0-4).Only one participant had mild spasticity.No adverse effects were reported.MusiQoL scores improved from 78.5 to 86.5 (p=0.03), and symptom scores from 75.75 to 82.75 (p=0.025).No significant changes were observed in fatigue, vitality, or mood.EDSS, spasticity, and pharmacologic treatments remained stable.Treatment burden scores did not change, suggesting T.R.E.did not increase burden.Conclusions: T.R.E.appears safe and may improve quality of life in RRMS patients without adding treatment burden.This low-cost, easily implemented technique warrants further investigation in larger trials and across other neurological and chronic conditions.