Exercising and depression.

An effective treatment alternative to the conventional treatment of depression? A narrative review

Abstract

The increasing incidence of depression is regarded as a rising economic problem and is currently the focus of research in medicine [10] [21]. Standard therapy is based on drug therapy with antidepressants and psychotherapy [37]. The conventional treatment methods, in addition to extensive waiting times for a therapy place, do not always lead to the desired therapy success [58] In context of this development urgent action is needed. Attention should be paid to establish a cost-effective and generally accessible treatment alternative. The aim of this work is to investigate the effectiveness of fitness training as a treatment alternative to standard treatments and therapies besides will investigating and briefly reviewing the unmanageable amount of publications on this topic. The subject of investigation is unipolar depression, also referred to as depression. The narrative review of already existing publications provides an overview of the current status of research in regards to whether fitness training, endurance training and / or strength training can be an effective treatment alternative in compared to conventional treatment methods. To assess the research question, published primary studies were considered, critically evaluated, essential information extracted from the studies and corresponding conclusions derived.