Progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, and mental practice-based interventions for the treatment of tremor after traumatic brain injury.
Ashley Hall Campbell, Kristen Barta, Michelle Sawtelle, Amy Walters
Physiotherapy Theory and Practice October 2024 DOI: 10.1080/09593985.2023.2243504 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | 47-year-old male with chronic right upper extremity tremor following traumatic brain injury |
| Interventions | Progressive muscle relaxation breath-focused meditation mental practice-based intervention active range of motion activities |
| Measures | surface electromyography, spirograph |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Tremor Mental practice Physical therapy Progressive muscle relaxation |
| Key findings | The authors report that progressive muscle relaxation, breath-focused meditation, and mental practice-based intervention appeared to improve tremor-related outcomes in a single patient with chronic post-TBI tremor, including quality of life, self-rated tremor severity, tremor impact on activities of daily living, gross motor object manipulation, surface electromyography tremor frequency, and spirograph visual inspection. They state that further investigation is needed to verify these findings. |
Abstract
Individuals post traumatic brain injury (TBI) are likely to experience cognitive, sensory, and motor impairments. Tremor is a common movement disorder that can affect this patient population. The purpose of this case report was to describe the effects that progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, and mental practice-based interventions have on the treatment of chronic right upper extremity tremor in a patient post-TBI. A 47-year-old male with a traumatic brain injury presented with a resting and postural tremor of the right wrist flexors and deficits in cognition, sensation, proprioception, balance, and motor function. The patient's primary goal for therapy was to decrease the tremor to improve his quality of life and ability to perform activities of daily living. Progressive muscle relaxation, breath-focused meditation, and mental practice-based intervention were administered to the patient. Active range of motion activities occurred during weekly in-person sessions and daily practice occurred at home. The patient demonstrated improvements in quality of life, self-ratings of tremor severity, ratings of tremor impact on ADL's, gross motor object manipulation, frequency of tremor via surface electromyography, and visual inspection of a spirograph. A combination of progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, and mental practice-based interventions appeared to positively impact tremor across physical and psychosocial domains in a patient with a chronic tremor. Further investigation is needed to verify these findings.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brain sources of EEG gamma frequency during volitionally meditation-induced, altered states of consciousness, and experience of the self Advanced meditator | 2001 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Mindfulness Meditation for Alcohol Relapse Prevention: A Feasibility Pilot Study Adult alcohol-dependent graduates of an intensive outpatient program | 2008 | Prospective case series | n = 19 |
| How does it feel to lack a sense of boundaries? A case study of a long-term mindfulness meditator. A single long-term mindfulness practitioner (S) with 40 years of practice in... | 2015 | Qualitative case study | n = 1 |
| Loving‐kindness meditation to enhance recovery from negative symptoms of schizophrenia Individuals suffering from schizophrenia-spectrum disorders with persistent negative... | 2009 | Case study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Problem Gambling A female problem gambler | 2011 | Case study | n = 1 |
Citations in the library
Cites 8
- Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2003
- Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica April 28, 2011
- The Effect of Mindfulness Training on Athletes’ Flow: An Initial Investigation The Sport Psychologist June 1, 2011
- Impact of Mindfulness-Based Teacher Training on MBSR Participant Well-Being Outcomes and Course Satisfaction Mindfulness June 6, 2017
- Mindfulness for Motor and Nonmotor Dysfunctions in Parkinson's Disease. Parkinson's disease April 10, 2016
and 3 more in the library