A multidisciplinary approach helps treat depression and anxiety in cancer patients

Progressive muscle relaxation training (PMRT) and five elements music therapy are two different approaches applied by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to treat mind-body illnesses. Chinese researchers combined these therapeutic methods to determine their effects on cancer patients who also suffer from anxiety and depression.

Their research was supported by the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. They released their findings in the Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine.

• The study involved cancer patients. Each participant was randomly assigned to either a control group that received PMRT or a treatment group that combined PMRT and five elements music therapy.
• The trial period lasted for eight weeks. The severity of the depression of members in the two groups was evaluated before and after the treatment through four different questionnaires.
• Four participants were forced to drop out of the study. The control group ended with 29 members while the treatment group comprised 29 members.
• Before the treatment commenced, the baselines of the four questionnaires for each group did not show any differences. Following the completion of the trial, the treatment group greatly improved their scores in three out of the four questionnaires.
• In the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire, the treatment group performed better than the control group when it came to four specific items: vexation, feeling fidgety, pleasure, and prospecting the future.

The researchers believe that cancer patients will enjoy better quality of life and improved psychological states if they receive both PMRT and five elements music therapy.

The full text of the study is available at this site.

If you have become interested in the healing power of music, you can read more articles about it at HealingArts.news.

Journal Reference:

Liao J, Wu Y, Zhao Y, Zhao Y-C, Zhang X, Zhao N, Lee C-G, Yang Y-F. PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION COMBINED WITH CHINESE MEDICINE FIVE-ELEMENT MUSIC ON DEPRESSION FOR CANCER PATIENTS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine. 11 May 2017;24(5):343–347. DOI: 10.1007/s11655-017-2956-0.