It's too soon to know for sure, but a $15.7 million award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is allowing researchers to see whether consistent exercise will help people abstain from stimulant abuse.
Dr. Madhukar Trivedi said he hopes to discover whether dosed exercise can reduce addicts' cravings for drugs. “It’s a scientifically exciting question,” said Dr. Madhukar Trivedi, professor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern and principal investigator of the national study. “Exercise would give people who abuse drugs an alternative ritualistic activity that may help them disengage from their drug-related behaviors while also improving their health and quality of life.”
Exercise helps alleviate conditions as diverse as obesity, anxiety and depression. Evidence from animal studies suggests that exercise leads to improvements in brain function similar to what is seen when a brain recovers from drug abuse, Dr. Trivedi said.
The Stimulant Reduction Intervention using Dosed Exercise, or STRIDE, study will be the largest NIDA-funded trial on the issue to date. More than 300 people from at least 10 clinics throughout the country are expected to participate.
Dr. Trivedi was a principal investigator of the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) study – the largest ever on the treatment of major depressive disorder and considered a benchmark in the field of depression research. The six-year, $35 million study initially included more than 4,000 patients from clinics across the country.
Dr. Trivedi also has published research on the effects of exercise on depression, with more work on the topic awaiting publication.
Participants are patients in community-based residential treatment facilities, such as the Nexus Recovery Center, for abuse of or dependence on stimulants, such as cocaine, methamphetamines and amphetamines. Participants have been randomized into two groups. One group is receiving usual care – 21 to 30 days of residential treatment followed by outpatient treatment – plus three supervised sessions of vigorous treadmill exercise per week for three months.
While we're waiting for results, it can't hurt for you to dust off that exercise bike, or take a walk a few times a week.
