Exercise helped people stay off drugs, alcohol or nicotine and eased their symptoms.

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   Adults aged 18 and over with drug, alcohol or nicotine problems took part in 22 trials. The paper gives no total number of people, and some trials had mostly women.

2. 02

   What they did

   Some groups did aerobic exercise, such as walking, jogging or cycling. Others did mind-body exercise, such as tai chi, qigong or yoga. The other groups got health education, standard treatment or no exercise.

3. 03

   What happened

   Exercise helped more people stay off drugs, alcohol or nicotine. It also eased anxiety, depression and withdrawal symptoms, though withdrawal results varied a lot. Intensity, type and timing made no clear difference, but the text and tables do not match on some groups.

What the review found

1. HelpedGoals

   In 22 trials, exercise helped more people stay off drugs, alcohol or nicotine than others.

   Pooled analysis of 22 studies · vs groups given education, standard treatment or no exercise

2. HelpedOther outcomes

   Across 5 trials, exercise eased withdrawal symptoms more than other groups did, but trials varied a lot.

   Pooled analysis of 5 studies · vs groups that did no exercise · ⚠ results look too good to be true; the studies disagreed a lot

3. HelpedOther outcomes

   Across 7 trials, exercise eased anxiety more than other groups did, and the trials agreed well.

   Pooled analysis of 7 studies · vs groups given education, standard treatment or no exercise

4. HelpedOther outcomes

   Across 9 trials, exercise eased depression more than other groups did, though the trials varied a lot.

   Pooled analysis of 9 studies · vs groups given education, standard treatment or no exercise · ⚠ the studies disagreed a lot

Source