Asima Mehboob Khan, Rizwan Taj, Waqas Ahmah, Fareha Iqbal, Sohaib Ahmed.
Effect of relaxation excercises in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
J Pak Psych Soc Jan ;10(1):30-3.

Objective: To see the efficacy of relaxation exercises in patients with GAD, receiving combination of medicine and relaxation exercises in comparison with those who are taking only medicine therapy. Design: Comparative, intervention based study. Duration and Place of Study: Study was conducted at both inpatients and out patients units of Psychiatry, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan. Duration was over a period of three months. Subjects and Methods: Study was conducted over a period of three months. Sample consisted of 100 participants. Fifty patients with GAD symptoms were selected for experimental group (including 25 males and 25 females), and same number of patients were taken as control group. Age was ranged from 20 - 50. Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, HAM- A was used as research instrument. Progressive muscular relaxation technique was applied on clients in experimental group. Results: Compared with only anxiolytic receiving group, patients receiving relaxation exercise showed significantly reduced anxiety symptoms by a mean effect of percentage. Relaxation exercise program lasting no more than four weeks, using session duration of at least 30 minutes, and an anxiety report time frame greater than the past week resulted in the largest improvement. Conclusion: The present results provide clinicians with evidence to recommend exercise training to patients as a means for reducing anxiety symptoms with minimal risk of adverse events. Exercise training may be especially useful for patients who prefer non-pharmacologic treatments because such preferences may influence the magnitude of the treatment outcomes.

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