Impact of Physical therapy on post traumatic stress disorder among post COVID-۱۹ geriatric survivors-a Pilot study

Aim:The traumatic experiences, the elderly faced during the COVID-۱۹ outbreak were tremendous which led to majority of the elderly to develop Post traumatic stress disorder(PTSD). PTSD poses a substantial public health concern.Vagal nerve plays a major role in stress regulation. One effective method for controlling the activity of the autonomic nervous system is vagal nerve stimulation.Surgical implantable vagal nerve stimulators are expensive and its discomfort limit their use.Non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation is found to be effective.The purpose of the study was to find whether transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (taVNS) is beneficial for treating post-traumatic stress disorder amongpost COVID-۱۹ geriatric survivors. Methods:The study was conducted with ۲۴ geriatric participants, who were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Participants were randomly allocated intotaVNS group and JPMRT group, During a four-week period (one month), taVNS group received transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation and JPMRT group received jacobson progressive muscle relaxation technique. Each week four sessions were held and each session lasted ۳۰ minutes. Impact of Event Scale- Revised (IES-R) was used as an outcome measure. Findings:When compared to JPMRT group, taVNS groupdemonstrated a significant difference in reducing post-traumatic stress. Post-test values of taVNS group in IES-Rhad a significant difference with the p value< ۰.۰۰۱. Conclusion:The research findings suggest that transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (taVNS)founds to be effective than Jacobson progressive muscle relaxation technique(JPMRT) in reducing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among elderly survivors of COVID-۱۹.

کلیدواژه ها:

Post traumatic Stress disorder ، Transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation ، Jacobson relaxation ، IES-R