[Value of sports in treatment of psychiatric illness]

Abstract

Several studies in healthy volunteers have shown a positive effect of endurance training on anxiety, depressive symptoms, self-esteem, concentration and stress tolerance. There are only a few controlled studies examining the therapeutic potential of exercise in psychiatric disorders. However, there is good evidence that exercise is effective in mild to moderate depression and in anxiety disorders. The therapeutic effect did not correlate with changes in cardiopulmonary fitness in the majority of studies. Therefore, other neurobiological and psychological mechanisms are discussed which might explain the effectiveness of regular physical training. The authors offer a variety of suggestions, how exercise could be integrated and evaluated in the treatment of psychiatric disorders.