Progressive Muscle Relaxation Therapy in Epilepsy Management: Its Influence on Stress, Fatigue, and Quality of Life

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of progressive muscle relaxation exercises on fatigue, stress, and quality of life among individuals with epilepsy. This study was conducted as a randomized controlled intervention, incorporating a control group and pretest and posttest assessments. Between July 2019 and April 2020, a total of 75 patients with epilepsy participated, with 35 assigned to the intervention group and 40 to the control group. Participants in the intervention group were instructed to perform progressive muscle relaxation exercises three times per week for 6 weeks. No interventions were provided to the control group. Data were gathered using the personal information form, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), and the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory (QOLIE-31). The mean FSS total score of the patients in the intervention group decreased significantly compared to those in the control group after the intervention (p < 0.05). No statistically significant change was observed in the stress scores. Cognitive and social function scores of the QOLIE-31 scale subdimensions of the patients in the control and intervention groups were found to be significant (p < 0.05). Cognitive and social function scores of the patients in the intervention group were higher than those in the control group. Progressive muscle relaxation exercises were determined that progressive relaxation exercises did not reduce stress in patients with epilepsy but had a positive effect on fatigue and cognitive and social function scores, which are subscales of quality of life. Progressive relaxation exercises may be proposed as a complementary nursing intervention for patients undergoing epilepsy treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: 1370445.