RESUMO
PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) exercise on pain and vital signs in patients undergoing open renal surgery. DESIGN: Nonrandomized evaluation with intervention (n = 31) and control (n = 30) groups. METHODS: In the intervention group, PMR exercise was performed twice daily on postoperative days 0, 1, 2, and 3. Pain severity and vital signs were evaluated 15 minutes after each exercise application. FINDINGS: The study detected significant differences in the mean visual analog scale pain severity values in the intervention group, who received PMR exercise between 0 and 3 days. The repeated measurements 15 minutes after PMR exercise exhibited a statistically significant (P < .05) decrease in systolic blood pressure values as well as heart and respiratory rates. CONCLUSIONS: It was determined that PMR decreased the mean postoperative visual analog scale pain scores and vital signs in patients of the intervention group compared with the control group.