Effects of Global Postural Re-education (GPR) on Stress and Sleep Quality in Health Science Teachers and Students
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- Enrollment
- 60
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Trait (STAI-T)
Study Overview
Brief Summary
Stress is a physiological reaction of our organism to situations that are perceived as threats. Of the different types of stress, emotional stress understood as a feeling of tension in difficult and unmanageable situations is increasingly prevalent in the western population and is responsible for a multitude of physical and psychological health disorders. In the same vein, sleep is a process experienced with a circadian (daily) periodicity in which there is a direct detachment from the environment and is necessary to maintain physiological, psychological and/or behavioral activities correctly.
Both teachers and students in higher education are examples of populations in which emotional stress and problems related to sleep quality have been described, with women being more sensitive to these problems.
The beneficial effects of physical exercise on different cognitive variables have been described, and it has been possible to characterise these effects on the physiological triggers of stress and sleep and, therefore, on alterations in the nervous and hormonal systems. Along these lines, Global Postural Re-education (GPR) is a physical therapy designed to re-establish the coordination of muscle chains and relieve pain. It has been established that GPR is a therapy in which the active participation of the patient is necessary so that it can be framed as physical exercise, with a structured execution protocol.
The overall aim of this study is to test whether a self-treatment therapy with RPG, after a learning and familiarisation phase, performed for 8 weeks, can have positive effects on stress reduction and improvement of sleep quality in female teachers and students of health sciences.
Detailed Description
The general objective of this study is to verify if a self-treatment therapy with GPR, after a learning and familiarization phase, carried out for 8 weeks, can have positive effects in reducing stress and improving sleep quality in teachers and health sciences students.
Intervention: GPR postures
- Coxofemoral opening with closed arms or commonly called ground frog:
The goal of this pose is to stretch the anterior muscle chain. The initial position of the patient is lying supine (face up) on the floor with the arms stretched out crosswise (abduction 90º) and the palms of the hands supinated (looking towards the ceiling). Feet together on the soles and knees apart. The lower back must remain in a neutral lordosis and pelvis at all times. The shoulders should be relaxed and away from the ears, that is, there should be no elevation of them, and the patient should have a sense of self-growth. 2. Hip closure with closed arms or commonly called frog in the air:
The objective of this posture is to make a global stretch of the posterior muscular chain. The patient's initial position is lying supine on the floor with hip and knee flexion, for which they had to support their feet on a wall. When lying on the floor, the patient must be as close to the wall as possible to be able to perform the posture correctly. The soles of the feet should contact each other and be closest to the gluteal area. The upper limbs must be in 90º abduction with supination of the hands. The lower back must remain in a neutral lordosis and pelvis at all times. The shoulders should be relaxed and away from the ears, that is, they should not rise, and the patient should have a sense of growth.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Treatment
- Masking
- Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Masking Description
The outcome assessor responsible for collecting the results was blinded, without commenting on the group from which the patient came.
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to 45 Years (Adult)
- Sex
- Female
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •Age 18-45 years
- •Health sciences students and teachers.
Exclusion Criteria
- •Rotating work shifts
- •Use of medications (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
- •Acute or subacute back pain
- •Musculoskeletal and neurological injuries associated with sleep disorders
- •Sleep disorders (sleep apnea, circadian rhythm sleep disorder)
- •Tumor, rheumatological, adrenal or pituitary diseases
Arms & Interventions
Intervention
1 week of familiarisation through videos, audios and information documents, followed by 8 weeks of self-treatment with two GPR postures.
Intervention: Global Postural Re-education (GPR) (Other)
Control
No change in lifestyle habits during the 8-week trial.
Intervention: Lifestyle habits (Other)
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Trait (STAI-T)
Time Frame: At the beginning of procedure and at the end (8 weeks)
Anxiety is one of the most frequent emotional reactions caused by stress. Anxiety has been used to measure stress levels through the State and Trait Anxiety Questionnaire (STAI).The range of possible scores for the STAI varies from a minimum score of 20 to a maximum score of 80 on both the STAI-T and STAI-S subscales. STAI scores are commonly classified as "no or low anxiety" (20-37), "moderate anxiety" (38-44), and "high anxiety" (45-80).
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory State (STAI-S)
Time Frame: At the beginning of procedure and at the end (8 weeks)
Anxiety is one of the most frequent emotional reactions caused by stress. Anxiety has been used to measure stress levels through the State and Trait Anxiety Questionnaire (STAI). The range of possible scores for the STAI varies from a minimum score of 20 to a maximum score of 80 on both the STAI-T and STAI-S subscales. STAI scores are commonly classified as "no or low anxiety" (20-37), "moderate anxiety" (38-44), and "high anxiety" (45-80).
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)
Time Frame: At the beginning of procedure and at the end (8 weeks)
The PSQ1 is a validated questionnaire consisting of 19 self-assessed items plus 5 items assessed by the bed partner or roommate. It provides information on 7 sleep-related aspects: subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep time duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleep medication, daytime dysfunction. The first 4 questions are answered concretely, and the following questions can be scored on a 4-point scale (0-3).
Cortisol
Time Frame: Changes along the day from wake-up to time to bed during 8 weeks
Cortisol concentrations are measured by saliva swab in the study patients.
Secondary Outcomes
- Sleep efficiency (SE)(At the beginning of procedure and at the end (8 weeks))
- Awakenings(At the beginning of procedure and at the end (8 weeks))
- Awakenings average(At the beginning of procedure and at the end (8 weeks))
- Wakefulness After the Onset of Sleep (WASO)(At the beginning of procedure and at the end (8 weeks))
- Total Sleep Time (TST)(At the beginning of procedure and at the end (8 weeks))
- Sleep Onset Latency (SOL)(At the beginning of procedure and at the end (8 weeks))