Adding physical activity to intensive trauma-focused treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder: results of a randomized controlled trial

Introduction: This randomized controlled trial examined the effectiveness of physical activity added to an intensive trauma-focused treatment (TFT) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in comparison to adding non-physical control activities.

Methods: A total of 119 patients with PTSD were randomly assigned to a physical activity condition (PA; n = 59) or a non-physical activity control condition (nPA; n = 60). The 8-day intensive TFT programme consisted of daily prolonged exposure, EMDR therapy, and psychoeducation, which was complemented with physical activities versus controlled mixtures of guided (creative) tasks. As a primary outcome, the change in clinician and self-reported PTSD symptoms from pre-to post-treatment and at 6 months follow-up were measured.

Results: Intent-to-treat linear mixed-effects models showed no significant differences between the PA and nPA conditions on change in PTSD severity. Clinician and self-reported PTSD symptoms significantly decreased for both conditions, with large effect sizes (e.g., CAPS-5 dpre-post = 2.28). At post-treatment, 80.0% in the PA, and 82.7% in the nPA condition no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Regarding the loss of Complex PTSD diagnoses this was 92.5% and 95.0%, respectively.

Conclusion: Either with additional physical or non-physical activities, intensive TFT is very effective for the treatment of (Complex) PTSD, as reflected by large effect sizes and loss of diagnostic status in both groups.