Maritescu Adelina, Crisan Alexandru Florian, Pescaru Camelia Corina, Stoicescu Emil Robert, Oancea Cristian, Iacob Daniela
Doctoral School, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
Pulmonary Rehabilitation Center, Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases and Pulmonology, "Victor Babes", Gheorghe Adam Street 13, 300310 Timisoara, Romania.
J Clin Med. 2024 Oct 18;13(20):6237. doi: 10.3390/jcm13206237.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) and additional progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) techniques in patients with long-term COVID-19 symptoms. : We included 61 patients with long COVID-19 symptoms and randomly assigned them to two groups: PR only (group 1 with 30 subjects) and PR with PMR (group 2 with 31 subjects). The PR program consisted of gradual aerobic conditioning, strength training, and breathing exercises. Group 2 received additional 20 min daily sessions of progressive muscle relaxation techniques. : Following a 21-day intervention, it was observed that both groups had noteworthy improvements in lung function, exercise capacity, and sleep quality with statistical significance ( < 0.0001). Group 2 showed significant improvements in overall health (as measured by the General Health Questionnaire-12), patient health (as assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9), general anxiety levels (as indicated by the Generalized Anxiety Disorders Scale-7), and sleep quality (as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), with statistical significance ( < 0.0001), compared to group 1. Moreover, the statistical analysis demonstrated no significant difference in exercise capacity improvement between group 1 and group 2, as indicated by a -value of 0.1711. The addition of progressive muscle relaxation to pulmonary rehabilitation significantly enhances mental health outcomes, particularly in reducing anxiety and improving sleep quality, for patients with long-term COVID-19 symptoms. These findings suggest that incorporating PMR into PR programs offers a valuable non-pharmacological approach to improving overall patient well-being during long-term COVID-19 recovery.
本研究的目的是调查肺康复（PR）和额外的渐进性肌肉松弛（PMR）技术对长期新冠症状患者的影响。我们纳入了61名有长期新冠症状的患者，并将他们随机分为两组：仅接受肺康复组（第1组，30名受试者）和接受肺康复加渐进性肌肉松弛组（第2组，31名受试者）。肺康复计划包括逐步的有氧调节、力量训练和呼吸练习。第2组每天额外接受20分钟的渐进性肌肉松弛技术训练。经过21天的干预后，观察到两组在肺功能、运动能力和睡眠质量方面都有显著改善，具有统计学意义（<0.0001）。与第1组相比，第2组在总体健康（通过一般健康问卷-12测量）、患者健康（通过患者健康问卷-9评估）、一般焦虑水平（通过广泛性焦虑障碍量表-7表示）和睡眠质量（通过匹兹堡睡眠质量指数测量）方面有显著改善，具有统计学意义（<0.0001）。此外，统计分析表明，第1组和第2组在运动能力改善方面没有显著差异，P值为0.1711。对于长期新冠症状患者，在肺康复中加入渐进性肌肉松弛能显著改善心理健康结果，特别是在减轻焦虑和改善睡眠质量方面。这些发现表明，将渐进性肌肉松弛纳入肺康复计划为长期新冠恢复期间改善患者整体健康提供了一种有价值的非药物方法。
