The problem of drug addiction among young people is rapidly growing. According to WHO 2023, about 296 million people (5.8% of the population aged 15-64) used drugs regularly, and this is 23% more than a decade earlier. For the treatment of drug addicts, modern medicine actively uses pharmacotherapy, but this method does not always lead to the desired result. A meta-analysis of world research conducted by TSU PhD student Chen Jiawei found that physical training help reduce drug addiction and improve self-control. The results of the studies are presented in the journal Frontiers (Q1).

– Traditional pharmacological treatments are the main tool used by drug therapists. At the same time, this approach has its own hidden pitfalls, – notes one of the authors of the article, PhD student of the Department of Sports and Recreation Tourism, Sports Physiology and Medicine of the TSU Faculty of Physical Education Chen Jiawei. – Sometimes doctors use drugs for replacement therapy (for example, methadone for opioid addiction) or agents that relieve painful withdrawal symptoms. However, the replacement therapy itself may lead to a new addiction, as in the case of an overdose of methadone.

The efficiency of pharmacological drugs is also limited in some types of addiction, such as methamphetamine, where drugs often fail to significantly reduce drug addiction or improve overall treatment outcomes.

It is against the background of these restrictions that exercise begins to be seen as a powerful and promising additional strategy in the fight against drug addiction. Scientists of the Faculty of Physical Education conducted a three-level meta-analysis of data from 11 randomized controlled studies within Embase, Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science databases. According to the results, regular short-term aerobic loads of moderate intensity can significantly improve the treatment.

The studies concerned the change in the condition of 906 adult drug addicts aged 20 to 65 years. Sample sizes (study participants) ranged from 32 to 288 individuals. Scientists identified 64 effect sizes used to assess the overall effect of exercises on executive functions in general, and their components – inhibitory control, working memory and cognitive flexibility.

The analysis also covered the type of exercise, intensity, frequency, duration of the session and characteristics of the sample – gender, age and type of drug used before rehabilitation, duration of drug use to create the basis for further personalized rehabilitation plans.

– We revealed significant advantages of physical exercises, – emphasizes Anastasia Kabachkova, research supervisor, professor at the Faculty of Physical Education. – Moderate to vigorous intensity aerobic exercises performed five times a week for 40 minutes or more per session over 12 weeks showed the most significant improvement in executive function. Our study serves as an important source of information for clinical practice and future research in this area.

Moreover, continuous physical activity will contribute to long-term cognitive improvement and enhance the quality of life of people who struggle with addiction.

As the authors of the article note, physical activity significantly improves inhibitory control – the ability of a person to resist impulses and desires, which is critical in fighting with drugs. At the same time, there is a direct decrease in such addictions, which is one of the main rehabilitation challenges. Thus, the use of physical activity can become a natural and effective tool for strengthening self-control and weakening pathological addiction, complementing drug and psychological treatment.