Abstract
BackgroundCancer patients often suffer from emotional distress as a result of the oncological process. The purpose of our study was to determine whether practice of Jacobson’s relaxation technique reduced consumption of psychotropic and analgesic drugs in a sample of cancer patients.MethodsThis was a multicenter pre–post intervention design. Participants were 272 patients aged over 18 years attending 10 Spanish public hospitals with oncological pathologies and anxiety symptoms. The intervention consisted of a protocol of abbreviated progressive muscle relaxation training developed by Bernstein and Borkovec. This was followed up by telephone calls over a 1-month period. The intervention was performed between November 2014 and October 2015. Sociodemographic variables related to the oncological process, mental health variables, and intervention characteristics were measured.ResultsA reduction in the consumption of psychotropic and analgesic drugs was observed throughout the follow-up period. Improvement was observed throughout the 4-week follow-up for all the parameters assessed: anxiety, relaxation, concentration, and mastery of the relaxation technique.ConclusionsThe practice of abbreviated Jacobson’s relaxation technique can help to decrease the consumption of psychotropic and analgesic drugs. Patients experienced positive changes in all the evaluated parameters, at least during the 1-month follow-up. To confirm these findings, additional long-term studies are needed that include control groups.Trial registrationISRCTN 81335752, DOI 10.1186/ISRCTN81335752 17. Date of registration: 22/11/2016 (retrospectively registered).
Highlights
Cancer patients often suffer from emotional distress as a result of the oncological process
The World Health Organization, the American Cancer Society, and the European Society for Medical Oncology mention in their guidelines on managing cancer pain the importance of medications such as psychotropic drugs, they stipulate that these should be taken only for pain that may otherwise be unmanageable or difficult to control [5,6,7]
A descriptive univariate analysis was conducted: for qualitative variables we report percentages and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for each category; and for quantitative variables we report means and standard deviations (SD)
Summary
Cancer patients often suffer from emotional distress as a result of the oncological process. The World Health Organization, the American Cancer Society, and the European Society for Medical Oncology mention in their guidelines on managing cancer pain the importance of medications (aside from analgesic treatment) such as psychotropic drugs, they stipulate that these should be taken only for pain that may otherwise be unmanageable or difficult to control [5,6,7]. Despite following these recommendations, a high percentage of patients cannot control their pain.
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