Abstract
Context: Depression is one of the most common old‑age psychiatric disorders.
Aims: The present study was conducted to determine the effect of progressive muscle relaxation on depressive symptoms in elders.
Setting and Design: This quasi‑experimental study was conducted in two seniors daycare centers of Mazandaran in 2019.
Materials and Methods: A total of 76 elderly people divided into intervention and control groups (38 each). The intervention group performed relaxation exercises twice a day for 30 days, and the control group received only the routine cares. The two groups’ depression was assessed before and a month after relaxation using the Geriatric Depression Scale.
Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed in SPSS‑22 using Mann–Whitney and Wilcoxon tests.
Results: After a month, depression score in the intervention group reduced from 7.13 ± 1.14 to 5.55 ± 0.98 (P < 0.001), but the score change in the control group was not significant (from 7.13 ± 0.96 to 7.18 ± 0.83) (P = 0.655). The intervention significantly changed depression score in elders (P < 0.001).
Conclusion: A month of progressive muscle relaxation appears to improve depressive symptoms in elderly people. Implementing of such measures is recommended in the day care centers.
Aims: The present study was conducted to determine the effect of progressive muscle relaxation on depressive symptoms in elders.
Setting and Design: This quasi‑experimental study was conducted in two seniors daycare centers of Mazandaran in 2019.
Materials and Methods: A total of 76 elderly people divided into intervention and control groups (38 each). The intervention group performed relaxation exercises twice a day for 30 days, and the control group received only the routine cares. The two groups’ depression was assessed before and a month after relaxation using the Geriatric Depression Scale.
Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed in SPSS‑22 using Mann–Whitney and Wilcoxon tests.
Results: After a month, depression score in the intervention group reduced from 7.13 ± 1.14 to 5.55 ± 0.98 (P < 0.001), but the score change in the control group was not significant (from 7.13 ± 0.96 to 7.18 ± 0.83) (P = 0.655). The intervention significantly changed depression score in elders (P < 0.001).
Conclusion: A month of progressive muscle relaxation appears to improve depressive symptoms in elderly people. Implementing of such measures is recommended in the day care centers.
Keywords
Fulltext
Full-text is available in PDF format.
Copyright
© 2020, Author(s). This open-access article is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which allows for unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.