Neuromuscular Relaxation

Abstract

Chapter 9 presented a neurophysiological rationale for the use of the relaxation response in the treatment of stress-related disorders. In developing that rationale, the research efforts of Gellhorn (1958a, 1958b, 1964b, 1967), Weil (1974), and Malmo (1975) are reviewed. A reader of these respective literatures cannot help but be impressed by the convergence these independent authors reached as to the critically central role that the neuromuscular system plays in the determination of, not just intentional articulation, but emotional and stress-related manifestations as well. Yet it was Gellhorn (1958a, 1958b, 1964b) who demonstrated through a series of well- designed experiments that the nuclear origin of the sympathetic nervous system, the posterior hypothalamus, is dramatically affected by neuromuscular proprioceptive feedback from the skeletal musculature. Such findings led him (1964b) to conclude “that states of abnormal emotional tension are alleviated in various ‘relaxation’ therapies through reducing proprioceptive impulses which impinge on the posterior hypothalamus” (p. 457). This chapter will explore the clinical corollary of this notion.