Progressive relaxation exercises: association with dyspnea, anxiety, and oxygen saturation among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Progressive relaxation exercises may benefit chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients by reducing muscle tension, calming the nervous system, and alleviating stress, potentially improving dyspnea and anxiety. By promoting controlled breathing, these exercises could enhance overall quality of life. This study evaluates the effects of progressive relaxation on dyspnea, anxiety, and oxygen saturation in individuals with COPD. Methods: A quasi-experimental single-group pretest-posttest design was used. A purposive sample of 60 patients with COPD at the chest department and outpatient clinic recruited from Ain Shams Hospital, Cairo. Patients' socio-demographic characteristics and clinical data, the Dyspnea 12 questionnaire, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the performance checklist for progressive relaxation exercises. For primary pre-post comparisons within the same group, paired-samples Results: The study revealed that 51.7%, 50% and 40.7% of the studied patients experienced moderate and mild dyspnea pre-exercise, post-exercise, and in follow-up, respectively. 55%, 50% and 43.3% had moderate anxiety pre-exercises, mild anxiety post-exercises, and follow-up up respectively. 83.3% of the studied patients demonstrated a satisfactory level of performance. Conclusion: that there were statistically significant associations among the total scores of the Dyspnea-12 (D-12), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the Progressive Relaxation Exercise (PRE) checklist after one month of implementing progressive relaxation exercises in patients with COPD. These findings support developing a simplified, illustrated, comprehensive booklet including information about COPD, lifestyle changes for coping with this disease, and its therapeutic regimen.