SynthesisJournal of occupational health2021
Physical relaxation for occupational stress in healthcare workers: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Journal of occupational health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 58 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
58 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 100 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of strategies to prevent burnout syndrome in hospital-based healthcare personnel: an overview of systematic reviewsRevista de la Facultad de Ciencias Medicas (Cordoba, Argentina) · 2026Pooled it
- Individual-level interventions for reducing occupational stress in healthcare workers.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Physical relaxation for occupational stress in healthcare workers: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Journal of occupational health · 2021Pooled it
- A Multimodal Prevention Program for Stress Reduction.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2023Trial
- Quality of Life and Stress Management in Healthcare Professionals of a Dental Care Setting at a Teaching Hospital in Rome: Results of a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Technostress and Insulin Resistance Risk: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of 104,175 Spanish Workers Using TyG, TyG-BMI, METS-IR, and SPISE Indices.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Healing from the Heart: A Burnout Prevention and Resilience Curriculum Innovation for Health Professionals in Underserved Areas.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Evaluation of Mental Health Profiles of Healthcare Workers in Northern Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional DASS-21 Study with Implications for Prevention and Interdisciplinary Care.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Well-Being and Cognitive Factors Influencing Health Care Workers' Adherence to Internet-Based Stress Management: Mixed Methods Analysis of a Nonrandomized Controlled Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Feasibility of classic massage for Swedish nurses: a mixed methods pre-post-test design study.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Article
- Article
- Meditative relaxation as an original multimodal mind-body tool: a randomized exploratory study among French hospital physicians.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- The indirect association of subjective work performance with sleep quality and wellbeing among high-stress workers in Japan: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Observational
- Conceptual qualitative system dynamics model for simulation of perceived workload, stress and performance from industrial work content.PloS one · 2026Article
- Work-related well-being among hepatobiliary surgical nurses: a structural equation modeling study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Psychosocial Determinants of Work Ability Among Paramedics: Implications for Occupational Health-Pilot Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- The Effect of Timing of Sports Massage on 60-m Sprint Performance in Competitive Athletes.International journal of therapeutic massage & bodywork · 2025Article
- Yoga as Potential Therapy for Burnout: Health Technology Assessment Report on Efficacy, Safety, Economic, Social, Ethical, Legal and Organizational Aspects.Current psychiatry reports · 2025Review
- Effectiveness of workplace interventions for health promotion.The Lancet. Public health · 2025Review
- Influence of Sociodemographic Factors on Level Stress and Coping Strategies of Nurses and Midwives Caring for Newborns with Lethal Defects.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesWork related stress is a major occupational health problem that is associated with adverse effects on physical and mental health. Healthcare workers are particularly vulnerable in the era of COVID-19. Physical methods of stress relief such as yoga and massage therapy may reduce occupational stress. The objective of this systematic review and network meta-analysis is to determine the effects of yoga, massage therapy, progressive muscle relaxation, and stretching on alleviating stress and improving physical and mental health in healthcare workers.
methodsDatabases were searched for randomized controlled trials on the use of physical relaxation methods for occupational stress in healthcare workers with any duration of follow-up. Meta-analysis was performed for standard mean differences in stress measures from baseline between subjects undergoing relaxation vs non-intervention controls. Network meta-analysis was conducted to determine the best relaxation method.
resultsFifteen trials representing 688 healthcare workers were identified. Random-effects meta-analysis shows that physical relaxation methods overall reduced measures of occupational stress at the longest duration of follow-up vs baseline compared to non-intervention controls (SMD -0.53; 95% CI [-0.74 to -0.33]; p < .00001). On network meta-analysis, only yoga alone (SMD -0.71; 95% CI [-1.01 to -0.41]) and massage therapy alone (SMD -0.43; 95% CI [-0.72 to -0.14]) were more effective than control, with yoga identified as the best method (p-score = .89).
conclusionPhysical relaxation may help reduce occupational stress in healthcare workers. Yoga is particularly effective and offers the convenience of online delivery. Employers should consider implementing these methods into workplace wellness programs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.