Physical exercise is a treatment for depression
The depression is a health problem that causes generating disability to carry out a normal life. According to WHO, it affects more than 300 million people worldwide.
The treatment should be multidimensional, including medication, psychological treatment, individual and / or group support sessions and other series of actions that are beneficial to improve this mental health problem. The exercise is still gaining strength as a useful treatment and should be taken into account to improve cases of depression.
Although we have already talked about how physical exercise is positive in mental health problems such as depression, there is increasing evidence that it is not only a recommendation, but that exercise should be considered as a useful treatment for improving Cases of depression .
Researchers who performed a meta-analysis including studies of high methodological quality (randomized clinical trials ) comparing exercise performance with a control group that did not, all in subjects with a diagnosis of depression, say the authors.
The results obtained in this analysis that covered a sample of almost 1500 subjects is that the effect of physical exercise had a potent effect against depression. In these studies exercise was compared with the control group that did nothing, and it was found that the effect of exercise (mainly moderate-intense aerobic was that used in the interventions) was very beneficial.
According to the researchers, exercise has a quite significant antidepressant effect in people affected by depression, even with diagnosis major depression.
Therefore, in our opinion, it can (and should) be included in the treatment guidelines for mental health problems such as depression, always indicated and supervised by health and exercise professionals, working in a coordinated manner.
