Progressive muscle relaxation: A stress management program for nursing students

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not the use of progressive muscle relaxation reduced the physical complaints of stress among nursing students. This pilot quasi-experimental study used a pretest-posttest design with a convenience sample of five volunteers. Data were collected by the use of the stress-related complaint scale. In this 5-week intervention, students learned about stress management and practiced the use of this progressive muscle relaxation technique as a method for reducing the stress in their life. Stress-related symptoms rated as irritating or higher (3 on a 5 point scale) were tension headaches (3 .2), frequent colds (3.6), insomnia (3.8), fatigue (3.8), and anxiety (3.6). After the intervention, only four symptoms were rated this high, anxiety (3.0), frequent colds (3.0), insomnia (3.0), and fatigue (3.4). Results suggest that stress management programs for nursing students may be an important component of nursing education