Nearly 50% of clients who go through a recovery program will relapse. Exercise and addiction treatments continue to be used simultaneously to help clients improve their chance at long-term recovery. To create an addiction treatment plan customized around your needs, contact The Hope House addiction specialists today.
Exercise is one thing clients can do while in a treatment center and upon discharge to help them improve overall health, cope with urges to use, and avoid relapse. The effectiveness of exercise as a source of treatment may vary on from client to client.
More research is needed to determine just how effective this form of treatment can be.
Yes, when combined with therapy, exercise can be a benefit to the treatment process. In fact, exercise has shown to have improve abstinence rates among clients by almost 70%.
Among the many benefits exercise can have, physical benefits may seem the most obvious. Being active and getting the blood flowing is a great way to stay in top physical health, but it can also provide benefits if you are in recovery.
Studies have found substance abusers have reduced walking efficiency and maximal strength compared to healthy individuals. If left unaddressed, these issues can lead to major health risks.
Along with overcoming many of the health risks listed above, some of the benefits associated with exercise and addiction treatment include:
Drug and alcohol addiction are known to increase risk of certain forms of cancer including lung, breast, liver, colon, and more; however, regular exercise and activity has shown to reduce these forms of cancer.
Sleep issues are a common issue among those with substance abuse problems. In fact, about one-third of substance abusers exhibit insomnia symptoms. Exercise can go a long way to improve sleep and have clients wake up feeling ready to take on the day.
Some common cardiovascular problems impacting substance abusers include abnormal heart rate, increased risk of heart disease, heart attack, and more. Regular physical activity has been shown to improve circulation and help with certain cardiovascular issues such as improved heart functioning, reduced risk of heart attack, and reduced overall death rates.
Along with these, exercise is good for the body in general and can help to repair some of the problems addiction may have caused, including abnormal weight fluctuations.
Studies have shown exercise can help with certain mental health aspects of addiction as well. Depression and anxiety rates decreased among clients who utilized exercise as part of their addiction treatment program.
Using exercise to decrease depressive symptoms is something which has been well-established. Involvement in exercise has been shown to lead to positive mood effects, alleviate clinical depression issues, and lead to a happier mood.
Exercise was shown to ease anxiety symptoms in alcohol, illicit drug, and nicotine users as well as in non-users. Exercise has proven to be an effective way to treat clinical anxiety, which is one of the common co-occurring disorders affecting substance users. By attacking the underlying symptoms of addiction, like anxiety, it can help a client remain sober.
Along with these mental disorders, exercise is known to increase self-confidence and studies have shown this can carry over to the addiction space. Exercise can improve a client’s self-confidence to stay sober, giving them more motivation and potentially preventing relapse.
For alcoholism specifically, some behavioral scientists have suggested exercise may be a solid relapse prevention strategy. Exercise may be a key tool for alcohol recovery as it can help:
While exercise has shown to improve those who are committed to recovery from alcohol abuse, it has also been a promising treatment for helping people stop drinking in the first place. A number of studies have shown exercise assigned to random heavy drinkers over an 8-week period showed “significant decreases” in quantity of alcohol consumption which were not examined with the control group.
If you need help quitting drinking, call The Hope House addiction specialists today.
Exercise has shown to promote abstinence and relapse prevention both during and after treatment for alcohol and substance use disorder.
While exercise can help a person’s chance at recovery, it is most effective when used with other forms of treatment including things like medication-assisted treatment (MAT), behavioral therapy, and support groups.
Individual, group, and family behavioral therapy sessions are a commonplace in drug and alcohol treatment programs. They are used to help clients identify triggers, underlying health problems, and more to help them overcome addiction.
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is a form of treatment giving clients access to specific FDA-approved medications meant to help with certain drug and alcohol addiction problems. They will help clients taper off these drugs and focus on recovery at hand.
Support groups are a helpful tool used in many aftercare programs. It allows clients to get in touch with others who are going or have gone through similar situations. It provides learning opportunities and somebody to lean on if they reach a potential tipping point.
Exercise is a viable form of treatment for substance abuse, but it cannot be the only one. For the best chance of recovery, clients should go through a holistic and comprehensive treatment program. The Hope House offers such a program aimed at helping solve the problems of the individual, not just the addiction. Contact our admissions team for more details.
