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CAN EXERCISE CURE DEPRESSION?
- By Sarah Frost
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Can you lift your way out of the blues? Dance your way out of a funk? Well, the latest research suggests exercise might just be better than medication to treat depression. Join Sarah on this deep dive into this exciting new topic.
DOES EXERCISE TREAT DEPRESSION?
As physiotherapists, we love exercise. We rely on it as first-line treatment for physical ailments, but new research from the University of Queensland shows that exercise can improve mental health in a big way. In fact, it may actually be more effective than antidepressants.
The study, published in the BMJ, analysed over 200 research papers and found that jogging, yoga, dance and strength training were successful in the treatment of depression. The results indicated that yoga and strength training were well tolerated, with low rates of injury and high rates of compliance. When compared with medication, exercise was found to be more effective in treating depression than antidepressants. It’s no surprise that the study’s author, Dr. Michael Noetel, noted “if exercise were a pill, it would fly off the shelves”.
Interestingly, there was no real downside to participating in exercise for depression. The results show that no matter how severe the depression was – there was a benefit to exercising. We can’t forget the other benefits of exercise as well – exercise is an outlet for socialising and becoming part of a community. It’s no surprise that group exercises like dance and yoga were so beneficial.
Figure 1: The best exercises for treating depression – Yoga, dance, jogging and strength training were most beneficial. These exercises had high levels of compliance and low risk of injury.
AUSTRALIA'S ANTIDEPRESSANT EPIDEMIC
In 2023 4.8 million Australians filled an antidepressant script, making it the most commonly dispensed medication in the country. With prescriptions on the rise, Australians now use antidepressants at one of the highest rates in the world, exceeding the UK, US and New Zealand. Antidepressants come with a number of side effects and withdrawal symptoms which make it hard to stop the medication once it’s been prescribed. About 50% of people on antidepressants will experience these side effects.
Conversely, Noetel’s study found that exercise had little to no side effects and was safe for people with multiple health conditions. He stated “whether they had other health issues or how severe their depression was, in all scenarios, exercise had a meaningful impact on their depression”. So, why aren’t we using exercise to treat every Australian with depression? Are these results too good to be true?
Why Isn't Exercise Prescribed for Depression?
If exercise is better than medication for depression, why aren’t we prescribing it? The answer is a tricky one and involves changing deeply ingrained perceptions about our health.
When depression becomes a problem, the first stop for most Australians is their local GP. It’s very unlikely that someone’s first thought is to visit a physiotherapist. GPs prescribe the majority of the antidepressants used in Australia. Medication is the preferred first-line treatment for depression by General Practitioners, this is usually followed by a referral to a psychologist.
If a client is referred to a psychologist by their GP, they can receive 10 sessions rebated through Medicare, known as a Mental Health Care Plan. A clinical psychologist can claim $137.05 per consult for those 10 sessions through Medicare.
However, obtaining a referral to a physiotherapist or exercise physiologist becomes much more difficult. A Chronic Disease Management Plan only allows 5 rebated Medicare sessions that must be spread out across all allied health professionals. Your physiotherapist will only be able to claim $58.30 on these sessions which usually results in a large ‘gap’ payment.
This means that exercise for depression is not feasible for many Australians. When a 30-minute physiotherapy consultation is $115 and a monthly script for antidepressants is just $20, many of us just can’t afford exercise therapy.
This has caused a gap in how we deliver treatment for mental health conditions. When exercise is seen as a luxury, it is prescribed less and less by GPs. Therefore, education, funding and attitudes about exercise for depression needs to be changed to support what the current research is telling us.
What Can We Do Better?
Australia is one of the most depressed and most medicated countries in the world. We need better initiatives to tackle our mental health issues given that current treatments just aren’t cutting it.
The first step towards acknowledging this research is more funding toward exercise-based mental health treatment. As discussed above, Medicare limits the ability for the average Australian to access exercise as a treatment for depression. This is despite 1 in 7 Australians experiencing chronic depression.
If medication, psychologists and GPs can receive rebates for mental health treatments, then surely it is time for physiotherapy and exercise physiology to be included. Given the results of this study, we may be able to save lives if appropriate funding is provided.
So, can exercise cure depression? Maybe. But first, exercise therapy needs to become an accessible and mainstream support for all Australians. If we can do this, we might just be able to treat our growing mental health crisis before it is too late.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Frost founded Homemade Physiotherapy in 2021 with the vision that high quality physiotherapy doesn't have to be provided in a clinic.
With over a decade of experience, Sarah combines her expertise from private practice and community based care to provide personalised and goal-orientated treatment to her patients.
Sarah values holistic and collaborative approaches to rehabilitation, working alongside universities and healthcare industry leaders to provide a physiotherapy experience that you can trust.
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ABOUT US
We are a small team of dedicated physiotherapists experienced in NDIS & Aged Care services.
Founded in January 2021, we provide personalised treatment so that you can feel better, move more and achieve your life goals.
