Anaerobic Exercise Training in the Therapy of Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: In the past 3 decades, there has been an increase in the number of studies assessing exercise as a form of treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs). While a variety of substance types and outcomes have been assessed, exercise intensities have never been systematically examined. Consequently, it remains unclear whether particular forms of exercise are better suited to the treatment of these populations. Anaerobic exercise has been shown to have positive effects in populations with psychiatric disorders, but its effectiveness in the treatment of SUDs has to date not been reviewed.Methods: The aim of this systematic review is to identify and evaluate studies which have employed either an acute or chronic anaerobic exercise component as a therapy modality for SUDs. The primary outcomes are abstinence, craving, withdrawal, consumption, quality of life, and the following psychological symptoms and disorders: depression, anxiety, stress, and mood. A secondary objective is to assess whether the type of training described in the study protocol can be reliably categorized as anaerobic training.Results: Twenty-six studies are included in this review. Twelve studies addressed nicotine dependence, one addressed alcohol dependence, and 13 addressed dependence on various illicit drugs. Thirteen studies reported the intensity at which participants actually exercised, but only one employed a test to determine whether training was carried out above the anaerobic threshold (AT). The risk of bias in the included studies was generally high. Results of the studies were mixed, with the most positive effects being found for abstinence in nicotine dependence.Conclusion: The evidence for the effects of anaerobic exercise in SUDs is weak, although a tendency toward positive effects on abstinence in nicotine dependent individuals was observable. The majority of studies do not report data on exercise intensity, making a categorization of anaerobic exercise impossible in all but one case. This means that the effects of this form of exercise cannot be determined, and therefore not evaluated or compared with other forms. In order to improve the quality of evidence for exercise in SUD treatment, clearly defined and objectively assessed evaluations of anaerobic and anaerobic exercise are necessary.

Exercise as Medicine for Mental and Substance Use Disorders: A Meta-review of the Benefits for Neuropsychiatric and Cognitive Outcomes

“…One meta-analysis [34] In that meta-analysis, control conditions included TAU, behavioural therapy, table football, computer games, occupational therapy and wait list. Similar findings were evident for these outcomes in another meta-analysis [80] (AMSTAR = 5, AMSTAR+ = 3), but no effect was found for depressive symptoms from aerobic exercise across five RCTs. A meta-analysis of seven RCTs [33] (AMSTAR = 5, AMSTAR+ = 3) of aerobic exercise and 292 people with schizophrenia spectrum disorder found that exercise improved global cognition versus control conditions which included table football alone (N = 1), occupational therapy (N = 1) and TAU (N = 5) (g = 0.412, 95% CI 0.19-0.64, p < 0.001).…”

“…Following the full-text screening, a total of 27 articles were included. This included 16 meta-analyses of 152 RCTs in people with clinical disorders [33,34,[57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70] and 11 further systematic reviews in people with elevated symptoms and areas not covered by the existing meta-analyses [71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81]. The search results including reasons for exclusion are displayed in Fig.…”

Effects of Acute Exercise on Drug Craving, Self-Esteem, Mood, and Affect in Adults with Polysubstance Use Disorder: Protocol for a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial

“…The effect of exercise on withdrawal symptoms, anxiety, and depression was not moderated by the type of substance used. Colledge et al [ 30 ] reviewed the effects of anaerobic exercise on SUDs. The results were mixed, with some evidence of a positive effect on abstinence from nicotine.…”

Comparison of Physical Effect Between Two Training Methods for Individuals With Substance Use Disorder

“…To date, many articles on drug rehabilitation have talked about bene ts of moderate intensity continuous training (MICT). However, future research in the eld of exercise intervention should focus on using anaerobic exercise as an intervention to explore whether there is a dose-effect relationship to inhibit relapse (16). Many studies compared the effect of HIIT and MICT.…”