What is MRT?
The basic premise of MRT is that anxiety manifests itself in tense and rigid muscles (neck, shoulders, jaw, etc.), and that by reducing the tension in these muscles, the person experiences a sense of relaxation and lower anxiety. The most common form of this is progressive muscle relaxation, which is where a therapist (or even an audio recording) can guide a person through tensing and releasing all of the muscle groups in the body, paying particular attention to the sensations and feelings associated with releasing the tension. This technique has received a fairly large amount of research support, but the actual process of how it is effective at a psychobiological level is not completely understood.
The Current Review
Conrad & Roth reviewed just about every study they could find that had to do with MRT and anxiety disorders, particularly those for GAD and panic disorder, and they concluded that the basic idea that learning to relax muscles will have a significant and real effect on anxiety is mixed at best. They propose that while the experience of reducing muscle tension is beneficial in the present, it does not help people reduce their worry and cognitive/emotional experience of anxiety. They also propose that it may sometimes work because people learn to control their thoughts and bodies better, giving them skills to change their experience of anxiety.
Should You Continue with MRT?
I think the most important thing to keep in mind here is the purpose of MRT in most anxiety treatment programs -- specifically, that it is used as a way to relax and find some relief in the present. Being able to calm yourself physically in a short period of time is an incredibly useful skill. The mistake is thinking that relaxation alone may help change the underlying principles that create the anxiety disorder in the first place.
Source:
Conrad & Roth (2007). Muscle relaxation therapy for anxiety disorders: It works but how? Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 21, 243-264.
