The Effect of Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique on Decreasing Blood Pressure among Elderly in Kendari City

Background: The effect of increasing the life expectancy is increasing problem of degenerative diseases. One disease caused by a degenerative process is hypertension.This study aimed to analyze the effect of Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) techniques on reducing blood pressure in the elderly.

Method: This research was a quasi experiment with a pre-post test with control group design. The population in this study were all elderly who experienced hypertension. The sample in this study amounted to 30 people, divided into two groups, 15 intervention groups and 15 control groups.Data analyzed using t-test.

Results: There was a decrease in systole pressure after the intervention, with a different mean of 12 mmHg, and the results of statistical analysis showed a significant difference (p = 0,000). The results of the analysis on diastolic pressure also showed a decrease in diastolic pressure after intervention with a mean difference of eight, but the difference was not significant (p = 0.054). Analysis of differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the control group before and after the intervention, both systolic and diastolic blood pressure showed no significant differences between the pre and post measurements.the results of the statistical analysis also showed significant differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure between the intervention group and the control group (p-value = 0.00).

Conclusions: There was an effect of PMR techniques on reducing blood pressure in both systole and diastole.