Effectiveness of Relaxation Therapy for Wound Healing in Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A Systematic Review of Randomized Control Trials

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) is a serious complication of diabetes that leads to open sores found on the lower extremity, ultimately decreasing the quality of life. The purpose of this study is to systematically review randomized control trials (RCTs) to evaluate the effectiveness of relaxation therapy on healing wounds in patients with diabetic foot ulcers. The search was conducted across the databases of PubMed, Embase (Ovid), Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and Web of Science. Inclusion criteria consisted of RCTs that compared relaxation therapy to standard care or other psychological/psychosocial intervention. The primary outcomes looked at were DFU healing, DFU extent, and perceived stress scale. The study included 3 RCTs that enrolled 75 patients with diabetic foot ulcers. It was found that within-intervention, relaxation therapy led to improved DFU healing, DFU extent, and participants were less stressed. Despite this, no evidence was found that suggested that relaxation therapy significantly improves outcomes compared to standard care or neutral imagery. Overall, it cannot be concluded that relaxation therapy has an effect on outcomes as there isn’t enough RCTs to come to a conclusion. Future research should delve into long-term effects of relaxation therapy on wound healing in patients with DFU, as well as compare it to other implemented therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy.