Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) in Stress Management Among Physiotherapy Students

NCT ID: NCT06028360

Last Updated: 2023-09-28

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

UNKNOWN

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

30 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-10-01

Study Completion Date

2023-12-31

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

The objective of this clinical trial is to observe the effect of Virtual Reality (VR) and Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) in stressed individuals.

Procedure:

Students will be invited verbally and procedure will be explained to them. 20 students will be recruited randomly into control and experimental group. Stress will be predicted using multiple questionnaires. Pss is given before and after the intervention. The students in control group will be given 10 mins session of PMR for 3 consecutive days and in intervention group will be given 10 mins session of PMR followed by 8 mins session of VR for 3 consecutive days in which specific landscapes i.e mountains, forests, nightskies and beaches.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Introduction:

As stress appears to be a natural human response to difficult situations prompting us to address challenges and threats in our lives, prolonged stress may cause the fight or flight response to over-ride body's normal physiology and produce multiple psychological and physiological symptoms resulting in various negative health conditions such as cardiovascular disorders, GIT disturbances, hypertension etc. Moreover, a global survey of adolescents in 72 countries found 66% of students reported feeling stressed about academics and 37% of students felt anxiety relating to schoolwork. Many stress reduction interventions such as Progressive Muscular Relaxation (PMR), mindfulness meditation, deep breathing exercises, and guided imagery have been shown to reduce stress levels among individuals and are being used as traditional relaxation interventions.

Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) originally known as Jacobson Muscle Relaxation Technique, was developed by Edmund Jacobson in the 1934. It is an actively engaging technique guiding the patients to consciously contract muscles to create tension and release it progressively. This is repeated until patients acquire complete relaxation. Many studies on PMR have proven it to be beneficial in decreasing stress and anxiety levels in many adults as well as children worldwide.

With emerging technology, innovative ideas, such as the use of VR (Virtual Reality) for stress management, have also been considered and studied. According to Cruz-Neira (1993), Virtual reality refers to immersive, interactive, multisensory, viewer-centered, 3D computer generated environments and the combination of technologies required building environments. In the healthcare sector, VR has been proved beneficial for balance and cognition training in cerebral palsy and stroke, and also has been observed to mitigate acute and chronic pain. It can provide rehabilitation, motivation and entertainment all at once. Further studies on its immersive effect suggest it to be helpful in stress management. Natural environments (forests, beaches, mountains etc ) viewed through VR, have shown to help individuals reduce their stress levels, anxiety disorders, and phobias. However, there is little research on individual preferences of different VR landscapes.

In Asia, research relevant to VR has been shown to have a positive effect on stress management in individuals with high stress and mood disorders. Effect of forest and water landscapes on stress management has also been discussed earlier. However, area for more research still remains.

In Pakistan, multiple researches have been conducted on the use of VR in health care and as a rehabilitative intervention for diseases such as stroke, parkinsons, cerebral palsy and amblyopia, but very limited evidence is available on the effect of VR on stress management. No such research has been conducted in this region or in our institution prior to our study.

A study conducted in India showed that the PSS score decreased from mean 22.2 to 16.5 while another study conducted in India indicated that PMR and talk therapy in college students, reduced percieved stress from PSS score of 32.30 to 23.03.

The purpose of our research is to investigate the effect of VR in stress management, the individual preferences of landscapes and its comparison with traditional relaxation technique such as Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR). This will help health-care workers improve stress management in a technology driven community.

Statistical analysis:

data will be entered and analyzed using SPSS 25. Numerical data like age, PSS score will be presented in the form of mean ± S.D whereas qualitative data like gender, Pre/Post intervention stress etc. will be presented in the form of Frequency (Percentage). After fulfilling parametric assumptions, Repeated measure ANOVA will be applied.

Potential benefits:

1. The subjects receiving the interventions will experience reduced stress and anxiety.
2. The subjects will be introduced to an innovative and immersive technology i.e., VR.
3. A step will be taken forward towards the use of technology in stress management, along with a traditional relaxation technique such as Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR).
4. The use of VR for stress management is cost effective and time saving.

Potential risks:

1. Motion Sickness It will be tried to minimize by excluding the susceptible subjects, using Visually Induced Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire (VIMSSQ). Also subjects with any psychological or in-corrected eye sight will not be included in the study. In case the above mentioned risk develops during the intervention, the subject will be given rest.
2. Increased Drop Out Rate If the required sample size is not met due to high drop out rate, new participants will be recruited and the procedure will be repeated until required amount of data is available.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Stress

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

A Randomized Control Trial with a Control and an Experimental group that will be given intervention 3 consecutive days.
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

The participants were blind to allocation. They were allocated by simple randomization through lottery method.

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive muscle relaxation will be applied for 15-20 minutes for 3 consecutive days for 1 week.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Intervention Type OTHER

Intervention will be applied for 15-20 minutes 3 consecutive days a week for 1 week

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality session will be given for 8 mins for 3 consecutive days for 1 week.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Intervention Type OTHER

Intervention will be applied for 15-20 minutes 3 consecutive days a week for 1 week

Virtual Reality Therapy

Intervention Type DEVICE

Therapy through VR will be given for 8 minutes 3 times a week on consecutively for 1 week

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Intervention will be applied for 15-20 minutes 3 consecutive days a week for 1 week

Intervention Type OTHER

Virtual Reality Therapy

Therapy through VR will be given for 8 minutes 3 times a week on consecutively for 1 week

Intervention Type DEVICE

Other Intervention Names

Discover alternative or legacy names that may be used to describe the listed interventions across different sources.

PMR VR Therapy

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* Students of either sex, aged between 18-24 years
* Students with Stress (through perceived stress scale PSS, any individual with a score above 14)

Exclusion Criteria

* Students more susceptible to motion sickness (Through VIMSSQ),
* Students with in-corrected eye-sight,
* Students with phobias relevant to landscapes/views of mountains, forests, beaches and night-skies.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

24 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

Shalamar Institute of Health Sciences

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Reema Khanam, DPT

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Shalamar Medical and Dental College

Laiba Khan, DPT

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Shalamar Medical and Dental College

Maha Sohail, DPT

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Shalamar Medical and Dental College

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

Shalamar Medical and Dental College

Lahore, Punjab Province, Pakistan

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

Pakistan

Central Contacts

Reach out to these primary contacts for questions about participation or study logistics.

Masooma Gull, M.S.

Role: CONTACT

+92-42-111-205-205 ext. 528

Javeria Aslam, Ph.D

Role: CONTACT

+92-42-111-205-205

Facility Contacts

Find local site contact details for specific facilities participating in the trial.

Dr. Masooma Gull, MSc

Role: primary

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Gao T, Zhang T, Zhu L, Gao Y, Qiu L. Exploring Psychophysiological Restoration and Individual Preference in the Different Environments Based on Virtual Reality. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Aug 26;16(17):3102. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16173102.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31455015 (View on PubMed)

Wang X, Shi Y, Zhang B, Chiang Y. The Influence of Forest Resting Environments on Stress Using Virtual Reality. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Sep 5;16(18):3263. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16183263.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31491931 (View on PubMed)

Allison S, Irwin Hamilton K, Yuan Y, Wallis Hague G. Assessment of Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) as a Stress-Reducing Technique for First-Year Veterinary Students. J Vet Med Educ. 2020 Dec;47(6):737-744. doi: 10.3138/jvme.2018-0013. Epub 2019 Nov 15.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31738679 (View on PubMed)

Ruotolo I, Berardi A, Sellitto G, Panuccio F, Polimeni A, Valente D, Galeoto G. Criterion Validity and Reliability of SF-12 Health Survey Version 2 (SF-12v2) in a Student Population during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study. Depress Res Treat. 2021 Aug 4;2021:6624378. doi: 10.1155/2021/6624378. eCollection 2021.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 34394986 (View on PubMed)

Levenstein S, Prantera C, Varvo V, Scribano ML, Berto E, Luzi C, Andreoli A. Development of the Perceived Stress Questionnaire: a new tool for psychosomatic research. J Psychosom Res. 1993 Jan;37(1):19-32. doi: 10.1016/0022-3999(93)90120-5.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 8421257 (View on PubMed)

Keshavarz B, Murovec B, Mohanathas N, Golding JF. The Visually Induced Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire (VIMSSQ): Estimating Individual Susceptibility to Motion Sickness-Like Symptoms When Using Visual Devices. Hum Factors. 2023 Feb;65(1):107-124. doi: 10.1177/00187208211008687. Epub 2021 Apr 19.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 33874752 (View on PubMed)

Ahmadpour N, Randall H, Choksi H, Gao A, Vaughan C, Poronnik P. Virtual Reality interventions for acute and chronic pain management. Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2019 Sep;114:105568. doi: 10.1016/j.biocel.2019.105568. Epub 2019 Jul 12.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31306747 (View on PubMed)

Browning MHEM, Shin S, Drong G, McAnirlin O, Gagnon RJ, Ranganathan S, Sindelar K, Hoptman D, Bratman GN, Yuan S, Prabhu VG, Heller W. Daily exposure to virtual nature reduces symptoms of anxiety in college students. Sci Rep. 2023 Jan 23;13(1):1239. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-28070-9.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 36690698 (View on PubMed)

Kashif M, Ahmad A, Bandpei MAM, Farooq M, Iram H, E Fatima R. Systematic review of the application of virtual reality to improve balance, gait and motor function in patients with Parkinson's disease. Medicine (Baltimore). 2022 Aug 5;101(31):e29212. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000029212.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 35945738 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

SSAHS 2023/02

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.

VR-PMR for Post-Burn Symptoms
NCT07317271 RECRUITING NA
Virtual Pain Care Trial
NCT05772468 ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION NA