This study was designed to test the effectiveness of brief relaxation training on postoperative pain, replicating and extending a study of Flaherty and Fitzpatrick (1978). A two-group pre- and post-test experimental design was used to determine if vital signs, analgesic consumption, anxiety, self-reported incisional pain sensation and distress differ in postsurgical patients who have or have not received relaxation training. Seventy-two adult, elective abdominal surgery patients were randomly assigned to treatment groups. Subjects in both groups were visited on the eve of surgery. Experimental subjects were taught a relaxation technique. Equal time was spent with control subjects. Following surgery all subjects were observed during ambulation. Vital signs were measured pre- and postoperatively, as were self-report of pain sensation and distress. Results showed that distress caused by painful sensations was significantly lower for experimental subjects (F[1,53] = 4.69, p = 0.03). Vital signs, analgesic consumption and self-reported pain sensation were not altered by relaxation training. These findings only partially agree with those of Flaherty and Fitzpatrick. Additional analyses by type of surgery (cholecystectomy and hysterectomy) showed hysterectomy subjects reported less pain sensation and distress and used less analgesics than cholecystectomy subjects.
With permission from Excerpta Medica Inc.

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