Pain and fatigue are common complications after cardiac surgery. All of these factors may
compromise treatment and quality of life following surgery; therefore, decreasing pain and fatigue
scales may improve outcomes after surgery. Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) therapy is
considered one of the alternative therapies used for reducing pain and fatigue among cardiac surgery
patients. So the study was aimed to assess the effect of progressive muscle relaxation on pain and
fatigue among post cardiac surgery patients. Design: A quasi-experimental research design with a
pretest-posttest was used. Setting: The study was applied in Cardiothoracic Surgery Department at
the Chest Hospital in Mansoura. Subjects: A purposive sample of 60 adult patients who are
undergoing cardiac surgery. Three tools used for data collection are Tool (I): A structured
interview questionnaire, Tool (II): A modified Behavioral Pain Scale, and Tool (III): Fatigue
assessment scale. Results: No statistically significant differences were noticed between both study
and control groups about their all demographic characteristics and their surgical history. Results of
the present study revealed that statistically significant differences were detected between the study
and control groups regarding their behavioral responses to pain post-intervention. A significant
reduction of fatigue scores in the study group as compared to the control group one day post
intervention (p = 0.0001) as well as five days post-intervention after surgery (p =
0.0001).Conclusion: Progressive muscle relaxation technique had a positive effect in reducing
postoperative pain and fatigue among patients after cardiac surgery. Recommendations:
progressive muscle relaxation techniques should be integrated into the rehabilitation programs
provided to cardiac surgery patients.