Community Impact Of Acsm Call To Action: Exercise As Medicine For People With Substance Use Disorders

Over 20 million Americans are living with a substance use disorder (SUD) and over 100,000 die annually from drug overdoses, with a majority involving an opioid. Many people with SUD have co-occurring chronic pain and/or a mental health disorder. Although exercise is a frontline treatment for chronic pain and is an effective strategy for reducing depression and anxiety, and improving overall mental health, there is currently limited evidence to help inform the integration of exercise into community practice. PURPOSE: The overarching goal of this Call to Action is to enhance the promotion of exercise programs to be offered as part of standard treatment and clinical care to underserved people with SUD. METHODS: A working group comprised of a panel of experts in kinesiology, pain, addiction, epidemiology, behavioral and public health was convened by ACSM to develop this Call to Action. RESULTS: We developed five “Calls to Action”, encompassing twelve specific recommended action steps. In this Call to Action, we aim to raise awareness to specific issues needed to advance exercise as medicine in people with SUD including addressing the challenges of co-occurring chronic pain, mental illness and cardiopulmonary health conditions. In addition, we emphasize that specialized training for exercise professionals should be provided on these issues as well as on the multiple dimensions of stigma that can impair engagement in treatment and overall recovery in people with SUD. Evidence-based strategies need to be developed for supporting exercise professionals and integrating exercise promotion into SUD treatment programs and other environments that address SUD recovery. CONCLUSION: This Call to Action in collaboration with the greater ACSM and SUD treatment center community provides guidance and key steps towards ultimately integrating exercise programs as part of standard treatment to improve the physical, mental and social health and overall quality of life of underserved people with SUD. Support for NLN was provided, in part, by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) grant no. R61/R33-AT010806. Support for DBC was provided, in part, by work supported with resources and the use of facilities at the William S Middleton