Introduction - Hello and welcome!

Hi there, welcome to my blog about progressive muscle relaxation!

I am currently in my 3^rd year studying occupational therapy and I am writing this blog for the ‘Transition to Practice’ course. We were required to choose a topic of interest that we think may benefit our peers, potential colleagues and others who it could appeal to.

I first encountered progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) when I was on my Mental Health placement at the beginning of the year. I was working alongside an occupational therapist that worked with clients out in the community who suffered from a mental illness. She performed PMR on me and I also watched as she would use it on her clients. Once I had seen it and experienced it a few times, I started to use it on a few clients myself and the feedback I received from those clients was always positive. Since that placement, I have been very keen on this intervention and I think it can be useful for others to know about, which is exactly why I chose to write this blog about it.

Over a period of time, my blog will cover several aspects of PMR, including:

• Defining PMR, the different types and where it all came from.
• Diaphragmatic breathing and why this is important.
• The benefits of PMR.
• Client’s perspectives on PMR.
• Where PMR can be carried out.
• How PMR is carried out.

If you find any of this information useful or you would like to share your thoughts or experiences, please don’t hesitate as I would love to hear from you :-)

References:

Image retrieved August 2, 2013 from http://weheartit.com/entry/12929300

What is PMR?

When I was initially introduced to PMR I thought it was a really complex intervention technique and that I would have to observe and practice countless sessions in order to be confident enough to carry it out on other clients. I soon came to find out that it is not very complex at all and it is very simple to follow the instructions if you are in the client’s position, and it is similarly very straightforward to perform as the therapist.

Bourne (2005) explains that Dr. Edmund Jacobson first developed progressive muscle relaxation more than 50 years ago and it is described as a systematic technique which is used to reach a state of deep relaxation. Dr. Jacobson discovered that relaxation occurs when muscles are tensed and then released after a short period of time. It is the tensing and releasing of all muscle groups in the human body that causes the state of deep relaxation, and Dr. Jacobson found that this technique was capable of managing and relieving a vast amount of conditions such as stress, high blood pressure, insomnia… and the list goes on.

Over time, PMR has been developed by several people and the two main types of PMR are overt PMR and covert PMR (Smith, 2005).

Overt PMR is generally the most common type and it refers to tensing a muscle group for 5-10 seconds followed by the release of that muscle group for approximately 30 seconds. This is repeated with up to 16 muscle groups throughout our body, carried out systematically, generally from head to toe (Smith, 2005).

Covert PMR is similar as it involves releasing the tension in each of the muscle groups, but without initially tensing up. Smith (2005) explains that this type of PMR may be considered as an advanced session following several weeks of training in overt PMR.

Personally, I haven’t experienced Covert PMR nor have I seen others perform or experience it. During my Mental Health placement when I was initially introduced to PMR, I assumed there was only one type (overt), but I guess you learn something new every day right?

References:

Bourne, E. J. (2005). The anxiety & phobia workbook (4^th ed.). Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.

Smith, J. C. (2005). Relaxation, meditation & mindfulness: A mental health practitioner’s guide to new and traditional approaches. New York, USA: Springer.  

Image retrieved August 5, 2013 from elearningserv.com/blog/impact-of-story-based-learning