Exciting Research into Exercise & PTSD Patients
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Research
St John of God Health Care has a strong
commitment to advancing research in the field of Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder. All our research programs have been approved by
the St John of God Health Care Human
Research Ethics Committee.
We are currently recruiting for the following research
program:
Randomised control trial of the effectiveness of augmentation
in patients with PTSD
PTSD affects 8-12% of
population. Treatments comprise of medications, talking
therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT),
psychotherapy or group therapy.
Patients with PTSD have poor physical
health. Exercise has been known to improve physical health,
but now studies have shown that exercise has some effect and
improvement on mood in patients with Major Depression. There is a
strong relationship among symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and
depression. The effects of exercise on PTSD, anxiety, and
depression symptoms need to be explored, as well as the effects on
physical health of these patients.
There are minimal studies on the effect of
exercise on patients with PTSD. This study hopes to illustrate
the benefits of exercise as an additional treatment for patients
with PTSD and broaden the treatment options for such patients.
Aims of the study
In this particular study we want to find out
whether adding exercise in addition to current treatment:
- Improves PTSD symptoms, mood & anxiety
symptoms in patients with PTSD
- Improve physical parameters such as weight,
blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), body mass index (BMI),
fasting blood sugar levels (BSL) & lipids in patients with
PTSD.
- Improves functional capacity
- Improves sleep, reduces anger and the use
of medications, in patients with PTSD
Who can participate in the study?
Men and women who have a diagnosis of PTSD and
are in the age bracket of 18-70 years old. You also need to be
medically well enough to participate in an exercise program. You
will undergo a physical examination prior to starting the project
to ensure you are able to participate in the study.
Where do I find more information?
To get further information about this research, please call 0415
435 125 to speak with our Exercise Physiologist, Simon Rosenbaum,
or email him at simon.rosenbaum@sjog.org.au