Rationale for Using Exercise in the Treatment of Stimulant Use Disorders

Tracy L Greer; Kolette M Ring; Diane Warden; Bruce D Grannemann; Timothy S Church; Eugene Somoza; Steven N Blair; Jose Szapocznik; Mark Stoutenberg; Chad Rethorst; Robrina Walker; David W Morris; Andrzej S Kosinski; Tiffany Kyle; Bess Marcus; Becca Crowell; Neal Oden; Edward Nunes; Madhukar H Trivedi

Rationale for Using Exercise in the Treatment of Stimulant Use Disorders

J Glob Drug Policy Pract. 2012 Spring;6(1):http://ctndisseminationlibrary.org/display/825.htm.

Authors

Tracy L Greer¹, Kolette M Ring¹, Diane Warden¹, Bruce D Grannemann¹, Timothy S Church², Eugene Somoza³, Steven N Blair⁴, Jose Szapocznik⁵, Mark Stoutenberg⁵, Chad Rethorst¹, Robrina Walker¹, David W Morris¹, Andrzej S Kosinski⁶, Tiffany Kyle⁷, Bess Marcus⁸, Becca Crowell⁹, Neal Oden¹⁰, Edward Nunes¹¹, Madhukar H Trivedi¹

Affiliations

¹ The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
² Preventive Medicine Laboratory, Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
³ Cincinnati Addictions Research Center (CinARC); Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
⁴ Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina ; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of South Carolina.
⁵ Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine.
⁶ Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University Medical Center, Duke Clinical Research Institute.
⁷ The Center for Drug-Free Living.
⁸ Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, The University of California, San Diego.
⁹ Nexus Recovery Center, Inc.
¹⁰ The EMMES Corporation.
¹¹ New York State Psychiatric Institute/Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University.

PMID: 25364477
PMCID: PMC4214380

Abstract

Novel approaches to the treatment of stimulant abuse and dependence are needed. Clinical data examining the use of exercise as a treatment for the abuse of nicotine, alcohol, and other substances suggest that exercise may be a beneficial treatment for stimulant abuse. In addition, exercise has been associated with improvements in many other health-related areas that may be adversely affected by stimulant use or its treatment, such as sleep disturbance, cognitive function, mood, weight, quality of life, and anhedonia. Neurobiological evidence provides plausible mechanisms by which exercise could positively affect treatment outcomes in stimulant abuse. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Clinical Trials Network (CTN) CTN-0037 Stimulant Reduction Intervention using Dosed Exercise (STRIDE) study is a multisite randomized clinical trial that compares exercise to health education as potential treatments for stimulant abuse or dependence. If effective, exercise may provide an additional approach to the treatment of stimulant use disorders.

Keywords: behavioral intervention; exercise; health education; stimulant abuse; stimulant dependence.

Abstract

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