PMR was used as the muscle relaxation intervention without interfering with cancer treatment. An experienced interventionist supervised the participants in 20–30-min PMR twice or thrice daily within 3 weeks.
The relaxation movement was conducted in consecutive steps (McCallie et al., 2006 (link)). (1) The interventionist provided a quiet and comfortable environment for relaxation with temperature maintained at 22°C–28°C. Participants were told to lie down evenly and rest for 10 min with their minds focused and without distracting thoughts. (2) Testing and recording the skin electromyography value before relaxation. (3) The interventionist guided the participants to relax with music from an MP3 player (produced by Chinese Medical Multimedia Press) and carry out PMR with each body part. The essential action points of PMR included: tense muscles, paying attention to this feeling of tension, maintaining this tension for 10 s, then relaxing for 5–10 s, and experiencing the sense of the muscles while relaxing. (4) Re-testing and recording skin electromyography after relaxing the muscles.
Signs of successful relaxation included: (1) absence of facial expressions, (2) every part of the muscle was slack, (3) tension in the limbs and neck was relieved, (4) breathing slowed, (5) the feet would abduct when the patient reclined on their back.
Skin electromyography was recorded by a computer biofeedback instrument for monitoring (JD-2A), which is a kind of precision electronic equipment for psychosomatic disease prevention and treatment using the feedback signal of electromyography. The instrument uses sensors to detect the electrical signals of participants’ muscles. After amplifying and filtering the signs, the analog quantity is converted into a digital portion through A/D conversion. The muscle activity is expressed by numbers, cursors, and sounds and fed back to trainees. Thus, participants can consciously regulate and control their physiological functions and reshape their emotions, visceral activities, and physical behaviors to achieve the purposes of curing diseases and recovering. Therefore, the utilization of recording skin electromyography via JD-2A can realize: (1) Monitoring (Patients’ mastery of relaxation techniques may directly affect intervention effects, so the biofeedback signal of skin electromyography can help observe whether participants achieve true relaxation after the intervention); and (2) Feedback (Through the feedback function of the instrument, patients can get timely feedback while performing relaxation, which allows them to adjust the technique dynamically and better master the relaxation technique).
The relaxation movement was conducted in consecutive steps (McCallie et al., 2006 (link)). (1) The interventionist provided a quiet and comfortable environment for relaxation with temperature maintained at 22°C–28°C. Participants were told to lie down evenly and rest for 10 min with their minds focused and without distracting thoughts. (2) Testing and recording the skin electromyography value before relaxation. (3) The interventionist guided the participants to relax with music from an MP3 player (produced by Chinese Medical Multimedia Press) and carry out PMR with each body part. The essential action points of PMR included: tense muscles, paying attention to this feeling of tension, maintaining this tension for 10 s, then relaxing for 5–10 s, and experiencing the sense of the muscles while relaxing. (4) Re-testing and recording skin electromyography after relaxing the muscles.
Signs of successful relaxation included: (1) absence of facial expressions, (2) every part of the muscle was slack, (3) tension in the limbs and neck was relieved, (4) breathing slowed, (5) the feet would abduct when the patient reclined on their back.
Skin electromyography was recorded by a computer biofeedback instrument for monitoring (JD-2A), which is a kind of precision electronic equipment for psychosomatic disease prevention and treatment using the feedback signal of electromyography. The instrument uses sensors to detect the electrical signals of participants’ muscles. After amplifying and filtering the signs, the analog quantity is converted into a digital portion through A/D conversion. The muscle activity is expressed by numbers, cursors, and sounds and fed back to trainees. Thus, participants can consciously regulate and control their physiological functions and reshape their emotions, visceral activities, and physical behaviors to achieve the purposes of curing diseases and recovering. Therefore, the utilization of recording skin electromyography via JD-2A can realize: (1) Monitoring (Patients’ mastery of relaxation techniques may directly affect intervention effects, so the biofeedback signal of skin electromyography can help observe whether participants achieve true relaxation after the intervention); and (2) Feedback (Through the feedback function of the instrument, patients can get timely feedback while performing relaxation, which allows them to adjust the technique dynamically and better master the relaxation technique).
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