Exercise may help PTSD treatment

Doctors may effectively use aerobic exercise as a part of their treatment plan for patients suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after a person experiences or witnesses a traumatic event in which serious physical harm occurred or was threatened. The disorder is common among victims of physical or sexual abuse and those with an experience of a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, or have been part of a battle. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. Sufferers may need medical and physiological therapies. Researchers at the University of West Florida studied 14 people who were rape victims and sought help from a certified rape crisis center. All of the studied people attended bi-weekly cognitive behavioral therapy sessions, while seven of them also took part in a minimum of two group circuit training classes every week. The therapy sessions included cognitive behavior interventions (CBT), 40 minutes physical activity and full-body exercises. At the end of the study, both groups showed improvement but those on CBT plus exercise experienced more progress, according to the results presented at 58th Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine and 2nd World Congress on Exercise is Medicine. “Preliminary research has revealed that aerobic exercise may be an effective treatment for PTSD," said lead researcher Erika Smith. "Previous studies have not utilized a control group and have not compared aerobic exercise to an empirically validated treatment for PTSD. This study aimed to do just that." She expressed hope that her findings may help PTSD patients, including many veterans, returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. The researchers called for more research on the benefits of aerobic exercise as an adjunct treatment for PTSD sufferers and traumatized individuals.