류마티스성 관절염 환자의 적응에 미치는 근이완술에 효과

The Effects of Muscle Relaxation to The Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients' Adaptation

The purposes of this research are to examine the effects of muscle relaxation to the rheumatoid arthritis patients' physiological, psychological, and social adaptation, and to verify that the technique Is an effective tool for improving the patients' adaptation. This research utilized a qusi-experimental design that compares the pre-experiment measures and the post-experiment measures. The subjects of this study were 37 out-patients who were diagnosed for rheumatoid arthritis in P university hospital and K clinic between September 12, 1993 and November 30, 1993. The experimental group consisted of patients treated on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The control group consisted of patients treated on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday The pre-experimental survey utilized the following tools. The physiological adaptation was measured by a graphic rating scale for pain and activity of daily living. The psychological adaptation was measured by Zung's depression scale and Rosenberg's self-esteem scale : and the social adaptation was measured by Derogatis' psychosocial adjustment scale. The experimental group received muscle relaxation treatment for 15 minutes per day for the period of 2 weeks, the control group received no treatment and had quiet time. The post-experiment measurement was carried out similar to the pre-experiment survey, SPSS $PC^+$ is used to analyze the collected data. The reliabilities of the measurement tools were examined by Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ coefficients. The homogeneities between the experimental and control groups were tested by t-test and chi-square test, hypotheses were tested by t-test. This research found that the general characteristics between the groups were statistically homogenious. The physiological, psychological, and social adaptation between the groups in the pre-experimental survey were also statistically homogenious. The results of this research can be summarized as follows : 1. Concerning the Physiological adaptation, the experimental group showed a statistically lower pain score than the control group. Thus, muscle relaxation was effective to relieve the pain of rheumatoid arthritis patients (t=-2.95, p=.006). 2. Concerning the psychological adaptation, the experimental group showed a statistically lower depression score than the control group. Thus, muscle relaxation was effective to reduce the patient's depression(t=-4.00, p=.001). 3. Concerning social adaptation, the experimental group showed a statistically higher score for the health maintenance and disease control than the control groups. Thus, muscle relaxation was effective for the health maintenance and disease control (t=2.09, p=.004). This research showed that the muscle relaxation is a nursing intervention that can promote the physiological, psychological and social adaptation of the rheumatoid arthritis patients in terms of short-term and cognitive changes. However, more fundomental changes in behavior and long-term physiology could not be found through such a short-term relaxation treatment.