Background: Anti-psychotic drugs are limited in their ability to improve psychiatric symptoms, quality of life, and anxiety status in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) can potentially reduce anxiety status and improve subjective welling in acute patients. It is an ideal rehabilitation intervention for patients with chronic schizophrenia. However, no study has investigated the effects of PMR on outcomes among patients with chronic schizophrenia.~Design: This study applied a randomized parallel case-controlled design.~Methods: Hospital-based randomized control trial in Taiwan. Eighty subjects with chronic schizophrenia were recruited from a psychotic ward and randomized into PMR, or control groups. Patients in the intervention group participated in progressive muscle relaxation for 12 weeks; while patients in the control group members received supportive treatment-as-usual (TAU). All participants completed anxiety, psychotic syndromes and quality of life measures at baseline, 3-month, and 3-month follow-up.
This study applied a randomized parallel case-controlled design. The study purpose was to evaluate the effects of progressive muscle relaxation on anxiety, psychiatric symptoms and quality of life among patients with chronic schizophrenia compared with an active control.