The Alternative Medicine Blog

The effect of progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery in improving psychological well-being and quality-of-life for breast and prostate cancer patients: Initial report

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As many of you know, I am going to invest a considerable amount of time and energy researching MBM modalities in the oncological setting. Partially because MBM modalities, when combined with standard treatment, show great promise to increase quality of life, reduce anxiety, pain intensity, and possibly even extend life.

For a thorough description of my research interests please visit my Guided Imagery page at my website www.WernerAbsenger.com and my page about Mind-Body Skills Groups .

Right now I just wanted to bring awareness on research that is being done at Cyprus University. The following abstract by Andreas, C. (2011). The effect of progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery in improving psychological well-being and quality-of-life for breast and prostate cancer patients: Initial report just appeared in the European Journal of Integrative Medicine.

Introduction: This study aimed to determine whether relaxation and guided imagery techniques have the potential to reduce anxiety, depression, pain intensity and improve quality-of-life for prostate and breast cancer patients.

Materials and method: Two-hundred patients with breast and prostate cancer were randomly allocated to either the intervention group (n = 100) or the control group (n = 100). Only patients in the intervention group received relaxation and guided imagery sessions. Each participant received 4 sessions of relaxation followed by guided imagery. Saliva was collected before and after the sessions and analyzed. Other measurements included assessment of quality-of-life (EORTC QLQ-30, Breast Module-BR23, and Prostate Module-PR25), pain intensity (pain intensity rating scale), depression (Beck Depression Inventory) and anxiety (Self-Rating Anxiety Scale-SAS).

Results: Even though the study has not yet been completed initial results show that the amylase level was significantly decreased after the relaxation and guided imagery sessions in the intervention group compared to the control group. Similarly, cortisol levels were also found to be lower in the intervention group compared to the control group, however to a lesser degree. Quality-of-life (P = 0.003), anxiety (P = 0.008), depression (P = 0.004), and pain ratings (P = 0.005) also show a positive response to the interventions.

Conclusion: Salivary α-amylase levels were significantly reduced and reacted more rapidly than cortisol levels to the interventions, suggesting that it is a better relaxation index. The use of Mind-Body techniques appears effective in reducing the levels of anxiety, depression and body discomfort in patients who have breast or prostate cancer. These simple, inexpensive and non-invasive interventions have the potential to enhance the psychological and physical wellness in these patients.

If you are a cancer patient or a caretaker/loved one of a cancer patient you might be interested in Mind-Body Skills Groups forming in West Michigan. We’ll be exploring Guided Imagery mentioned in this study and many other Mind-Body modalities. For more information visit my page about Mind-Body Skills Groups.

The quest continues to find the best combination of modalities to improve the lives of patients suffering from cancer and their caretakers/loved ones.

Thank you for reading the Alternative Medicine Blog! Your Source for Mind-Body Medicine News and Research.

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APA: W Absenger. (2011, October 20). The effect of progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery in improving psychological well being [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.amacf.org/2011/10/the-effect-of-progressive-muscle-relaxation-and-guided-imagery-in-improving-psychological-well-being.html

MLA: Absenger, Werner. "The effect of progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery in improving psychological well being." The Alternative Medicine Blog. The Alternative Medicine Blog., 20 OCT. 2011. Web. Insert your date of access here.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Beste Gesundheit,

Werner Absenger, M.Sc.

MBM Research Scientist: Visit me at www.WernerAbsenger.com

Ph.D. Student at Saybrook University’s College of Mind-Body Medicine Research Track

Sign Up For The MBM Insider Werner's Free Mind-Body Medicine Newsletter

References:

Andreas, C. (2011). The effect of progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery in improving psychological well-being and quality-of-life for breast and prostate cancer patients: Initial report. European Journal of Integrative Medicine, 3(3), e125. doi:10.1016/j.eujim.2011.05.044

 

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U.S. Gets a D- on the National Scorecard on U.S. Health and A Manifesto for A New Medicine

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The National Scorecard on U.S. Health System Performance, 2011, updates a series of comprehensive assessments of U.S. population health and health care quality, access, efficiency, and equity. It finds substantial improvement on quality-of-care indicators that have been the focus of public reporting and collaborative initiatives. However, U.S. health system performance continues to fall far short of what is attainable, especially given the enormity of public and private resources devoted nationally to health. Across 42 performance indicators, the U.S. achieves a total score of 64 out of a possible 100, when comparing national rates with domestic and international benchmarks. Overall, the U.S. failed to improve relative to these benchmarks, which in many cases rose. Costs were up sharply, access to care deteriorated, health system efficiency remained low, disparities persisted, and health outcomes failed to keep pace with benchmarks.

How can you protect yourself and your family, given the dim outlook on access to care, rising (unattainable) insurance premiums, and rising health disparities?

I give you a hint. It will be Self-Care that is Central to Health Care! Keep reading…

ISSN 2164-0238 Assigned to the Alternative Medicine Blog

The Alternative Medicine Blog has now been assigned, under the auspices of the U.S. ISSN Center at the Library of Congress, the following ISSN 2164-0238.

Here is the entry:

Subject Heading: Alternative medicine-Periodicals

Genre/Form: Periodicals
Material Type: Document, Periodical, Internet resource
Document Type: Internet Resource, Computer File, Journal / Magazine / Newspaper
All Authors / Contributors: Absenger Cancer Education Foundation.
ISSN: 2164-0238
OCLC Number: 754917388
Other Titles: The Alternative medicine blog

Thank you for reading the Alternative Medicine Blog

Beste Gesundheit,

Werner Absenger, M.Sc.
Ph.D. Student at Saybrook University’s College of Mind-Body Medicine,
Research Track

Now Available: Werner's FREE Mind-Body Research Newsletter