Progressive Muscle Relaxation Combined with Chinese Medicine Five-Element Music on Depression for Cancer Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objectives： To evaluate the effects of progressive muscle relaxation training （PMRT） combined with five elements music therapy of Chinese medicine （CM） for improving anxiety and depression of cancer patients. Methods： From June 2015 to March 2016, 60 cancer patients were included into the study. The patients were randomly assigned to a control group and a treatment group by envelope randomization, receiving PMRT and PMRT plus CM five elements music therapy, respectively, for 8 weeks. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale （HADS）, Benefit Finding Scales （BFS）, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual （FACIT-Sp）, and Intervention Expectations Questionnaire （IEQU） were adopted to assess the depression of the two groups before and after the treatment. Results： Four cases dropped out during the study, and 29 cases in the treatment group and 27 in the control group were included in the final analysis. Prior to the treatments, the baselines of the 4 questionnaires in the two groups showed no difference. After the 8-week treatment, the treatment group presented better levels of HADS, BFS and FACIT-Sp scores compared with the control group （P〈0.05）. Among the single items of HADS, 4 items involving vexation, feeling fidgeted, pleasure and prospecting the future in the treatment group were improved compared with the control group （P〈0.05）. Conclusions： As a simple and reliable and effective intervention, PMRT combined with five elements music therapy mitigated anxiety and depression of cancer patients. Cancer patients have been found to respond well to psychological intervention in areas regarding stabilisation of emotions, disease awareness, and therapeutic compliance. This brings about a great difference in improving their quality of life and psychological state, offers an effective approach to better self-management in cancer treatment.

The Application of the Complementary and Alternative Therapies in Relieving Insomnia for Cancer Patients

Objective:To observe the curative effect of the complementary and alternative therapies in relieving insomnia for cancer patients.Method:According to the principle of randomization,with meeting the inclusion criteria,the 60 patients who were diagnosed as insomnia caused by liver qi stagnation were randomly divided into the control group and the intervention group.The intervention group(30 individuals treated with mini-needle therapy combined with TCM five elements music),the control group(30 individuals who were treated with single mini-needle therapy),the body buried needle 24 hours/time,5 times for a course of treatment,interval of 2 days between 2 courses,a total of 8 needles embedded.Pittsburgh sleep quality index(PSQI)scores of 2 groups were analyzed using SPSS19.0 statistical software.Results:The total effective rate was 86.1%in the intervention group,and 75.9%in the control group,the difference was statistically significant between 2 groups(P<0.05).The comparison of the PSQI score between the 2 groups propost treatment showed that there were statistically significant differences(P<0.05).The reduction rate of PSQI in the intervention group was 31.7%,indicating that 31.7%was effective,while 23.1%in the control group was ineffective.Conclusion:The mini-needle therapy combined with TCM five elements music could relieve insomnia caused by qi stagnation of liver in patients with advanced cancer.

A Review of Traditional Chinese Medicine for the Treatment of Depression

Depression is a common mental illness with symptoms such as loss of interest.At present,It is mainly treated with antidepressants,which are effective in a short time,but it is highly addictive and has a high probability of adverse reactions.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)treatment of depression has the advantages of high feasibility,good tolerance,obvious effect,and small side effects.In addition,TCM has great potential for the treatment of depression with the overall concept of the unity of nature and man as its guiding ideology and rich clinical experience.This review mainly expounds on the research progress of TCM treatment of depression from two aspects of TCM non-drug therapy and TCM drug therapy,to provide a reference for clinical treatment of depression.