The Role of Exercise in the Treatment of PTSD Symptoms

One of the signature injuries of combat operations following 9/11 is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The most effective treatment for PTSD is exposure therapy where, under the supervision of a trained therapist, individuals are exposed to prolonged and repeated imagined images of the trauma until the images no longer cause severe anxiety. Various forms of exercise have been used to treat a broad range of depression and anxiety disorders and exercise has been used with some success to treat individuals with PTSD. Considering the population of otherwise healthy and physically active Service Members suffering from symptoms of PTSD, it seems possible that exercise might serve as an outlet for the emotional reactions experienced during therapy, decreasing emotional distress, and increasing the individual's tolerance to imaginal exposure serving as a powerful adjunct to exposure therapy. The purpose of this study to explore the role of exercise in the treatment of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), specifically determining if the efficacy of imaginal exercises, part of exposure therapy for PTSD, can be improved by augmenting the therapy with aerobic exercise. Towards this end, this 8-week experimental, repeated-measures clinical trial will randomize 120 Service Members with symptoms of PTSD into one of four groups: 1) imaginal exercises of exposure therapy only, 2) aerobic exercise only, 3) imaginal exercises augmented with aerobic exercise, or 4) self-care.