The Effect of Progressive Muscle Relaxation Exercises on Fatigue, Dyspnea, and Respiratory Function in Patients With Systemic Sclerosis (PMR-SCLERODERM)

October 5, 2026 updated by: Adile Nese, University of Gaziantep

The Effect of Progressive Muscle Relaxation Exercises on Fatigue, Dyspnea, and Respiratory Function in Patients With Systemic Sclerosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study aims to evaluate the effects of progressive muscle relaxation exercises on fatigue, dyspnea, and respiratory function in patients with systemic sclerosis. Participants will be assessed before and after the intervention.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Systemic sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune connective tissue disease that can affect multiple organs, including the respiratory system. Respiratory involvement may lead to symptoms such as dyspnea and fatigue and may adversely affect respiratory function and quality of life.

Progressive muscle relaxation exercise is a non-pharmacological relaxation technique that involves systematically tensing and relaxing different muscle groups. This technique may reduce physical and psychological tension and may contribute to the management of symptoms such as fatigue and dyspnea.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of progressive muscle relaxation exercises on fatigue, dyspnea, and respiratory function in patients with systemic sclerosis. Participants will undergo baseline assessments before the intervention. Progressive muscle relaxation exercises will then be administered, followed by post-intervention assessments to determine changes in fatigue, dyspnea, and respiratory function.

The findings of this study may provide evidence regarding the potential use of progressive muscle relaxation exercises as a supportive non-pharmacological intervention for symptom management in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
50

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Şehitkamil
      • Gaziantep, Şehitkamil, Turkey (Türkiye), 27000
        • Recruiting
        • Gaziantep University Vocational School of Health Services
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
          • Adile Neşe, Associate Professor

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:Individuals who meet the study eligibility criteria will be included in the study. Eligible participants will be adults aged 18 years or older, diagnosed with systemic sclerosis, and have adequate physical and cognitive capacity to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:Individuals who do not meet the inclusion criteria, who are unable to participate in the progressive muscle relaxation exercises due to their physical or cognitive condition, or who withdraw from the study voluntarily will be excluded from the study.

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Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Progressive Muscle Relaxation Exercise Group

Participants randomly assigned to this group will receive progressive muscle relaxation exercises in addition to standard care.
Behavioral: Progressive Muscle Relaxation Exercise

Participants in the intervention group will receive progressive muscle relaxation exercises according to the study protocol. The intervention will be administered in addition to standard care.
No Intervention: Control Group

Participants randomly assigned to this group will receive standard care without progressive muscle relaxation exercises.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Fatigue severity measured by the FACIT-Fatigue Scale
Time Frame: Baseline and 4 weeks after the intervention

Fatigue will be assessed using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-Fatigue) Scale. Changes in fatigue scores from baseline to post-intervention assessment will be evaluated between the intervention and control groups.
Baseline and 4 weeks after the intervention
Dyspnea severity measured by the Dyspnea-12 (D-12) Scale
Time Frame: Baseline and 4 weeks after the intervention

Dyspnea will be assessed using the Dyspnea-12 (D-12) Scale. Changes in dyspnea scores from baseline to post-intervention assessment will be evaluated between the intervention and control groups.
Baseline and 4 weeks after the intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Respiratory function measured by forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC)
Time Frame: Baseline and 4 weeks after the intervention

Respiratory function will be assessed using spirometry, including forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC). Changes in FEV1 and FVC from baseline to post-intervention assessment will be evaluated between the intervention and control groups.
Baseline and 4 weeks after the intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Gaziantep

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Adile Neşe, Associate Professor, University of Gaziantep

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 25, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
November 10, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 25, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 20, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 20, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 25, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 5, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • SCLERODERMA
  • 23.05.2025 (Registry Identifier: Gaziantep University)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared with other researchers. Data will be used only for the purposes of this study and will be handled in accordance with applicable ethical and data protection requirements.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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