Long-Term Effects of Mind-Body Exercises on the Physical Fitness and Quality of Life of Individuals With Substance Use Disorder—A Randomized Trial

Abstract

Background: Mind-body exercises (MBE) are sequences of low to medium-intensity activities that benefit healthy performers physically and mentally. In contrast to the unmodified application of traditional tai chi, qi gong, or yoga in the healthy population, MBEs are typically tailored for individuals with substance abuse disorder (SUD). Despite numerous applications in practice, the detailed effects of tailor-made MBEs for SUD are unclear.Objectives: This study aimed to analyze and compare changes in the physical fitness and quality of life of individuals with SUD that underwent conventional or tailor-made MBEs.Methods: A total of 100 subjects obtained from the Shanghai Mandatory Detoxification and Rehabilitation Center with SUD were randomly assigned into two groups. The subjects in the experimental group (n = 50) practiced tailored MBE for 60 min a day, five times a week, for 3 months. The subjects (n = 50) in the control group were treated with conventional rehabilitation exercises with the same intervention protocol. The outcomes of fitness and quality of life for drug addiction were measured at the beginning and after 3 and 6 months by a questionnaire (QOL-DA). A two-way repeated measure analysis of variance was applied to compare the difference of treatments in the two groups.Results: Statistically significant differences for the experimental group were found in systolic (p < 0.01, η2 = 0.124) and diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.01, η2 = 0.097), pulse (p < 0.01, η2 = 0.086), vital capacity (p < 0.05, η2 = 0.036), flexibility (p < 0.01, η2 = 0.143), and aerobic endurance (p < 0.01, η2 = 0.165). Results of the QOL-DA showed statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups in total score (p < 0.01, η2 = 0.158) with greater effects on the former.Conclusions: This study provided evidence that tailored MBE could lead to remarkable effects with regard to blood pressure, vital capacity, flexibility, and aerobic endurance in comparison with conventional rehabilitation methods.Clinical Trial Registration: ChiCTR-IPR-14005343.

Effects of Tai Chi on the Executive Function and Physical Fitness of Female Methamphetamine Dependents: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…This result was similar to a previous study that found MA dependents showed remarkable improvements in vital capacity after moderate-intensity TC intervention (88,89). TC exercise was also been suggested to normalized BMI in MA users (66). Similarly, decreased BMI was found in the exercise group in the current study, which was the same as the findings of a previous TC intervention study (90).…”

“…Researchers have focused on the effects of TC on physical and mental health of both male and female drug users, and they reached the consensus that TC exercise has positive influences on mind-body health, specifically on cardiopulmonary function, physical functional performance, and mental status ( 63 – 65 ). A related study provided evidences of the remarkable effects of TC on blood pressure, vital capacity, flexibility, and aerobic endurance in drug users ( 66 ). Significant improvements in the physical fitness of hand grip, sit-and-reach, push-up and balance ability, and decreased craving were observed after several months of TC intervention in amphetamine-type dependents ( 54 ).…”

The Effects of Tai Chi and Baduanjin Activities on Physical Interventions With Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

“…Including 30 literature in English and 121 in Chinese. Imported into EndNote to exclude duplicate literature to get 92, read the titles and abstracts to exclude 64 literature, by full-text intensive reading of the remaining 28 literature, excluding data similarity and mixed interventions and outcome indicators irrelevant literature, finally included 15 publications ( Geng, 2016 ; Geng et al, 2016 ; Jiang, 2017 ; Kui, 2018 ; Liu, 2019 ; F. Wang, 2015 ; S. Wang, Zhang, & Liu, 2019 ; M. Zhang, 2018 ; W. Zhang, 2020 ; Z. Zhang, 2019 ; Zheng, 2019 ; D. Zhu et al, 2018 ; Zhu et al, 2020 ; D. Zhu et al, 2016 ; H. Zhu, 2013 ), Z. Zhang (2019) consisted of two randomized controlled trial (RCTs) which lead to 15 publications and 16 RCTs. ( Table 1 )…”

“…Among the 15 publications, there were nine studies on the abuse of ATS ( Geng, 2016 ; Geng et al, 2016 ; Liu, 2019 ; M. Zhang, 2018 ; Z. Zhang, 2019 ; D. Zhu et al, 2018 ; D. Zhu et al, 2020 ; D. Zhu et al, 2016 ) and one study on the heroin ( S. Wang et al, 2019 ). Six other studies did not explicitly mention the type of drug abuse of the study subjects, but one of them mentioned that MA accounted for about 75% ( Jiang, 2017 ), two studies mentioned that MA accounted for the majority but did not give a specific percentage ( Kui, 2018 ; Zheng, 2019 ), and the remaining three studies were completely unclear about the type of drug abuse of the study subjects ( F. Wang, 2015 ; W. Zhang, 2020 ; H. Zhu, 2013 ).…”

Effects of traditional Chinese exercises on mental health in individuals with drug rehabilitee: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The reason why TCE is able to assist in relieving sleep disorders is that TCE requires gentle and rhythmic movements; when practitioners perform TCE, the parasympathetic tone can be increased to regulate the nerve center and improve sleep quality. Moreover, TCE can bring pleasure to the body and mind of the practitioner and thereby reduce sleep disorders ( 48 ). However, the reason for the lack of a significant effect of TCE found in our study is that it is likely that our study focused on drug rehabilitees and a small number of studies were included compared with the population in the previous study.…”