A home-based walking study to amerliorate perceived stress and depressive symptoms in people with a traumatic brain injury

Model System:

Burn

Reference Type:

Accession No.:

J71238

Journal:

Brain Injury

Year, Volume, Issue, Page(s):

2015 , 1, 29, 313-319

Publication Website:

Abstract:

Study explored whether a 12-week home-based walking program can decrease perceived stress and depressive symptoms in people with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Sixty-nine participants with a TBI were randomly assigned to complete a 12-week walking intervention or a nutrition education program. The walking intervention utilized pedometers to track the amount of steps each participant walked daily. With the assistance of an assigned coach, weekly goals were given with the intent of increasing the amount of walking that the participant was initially completing. The nutrition control group was created to offset the impact of the coaching calls. Measurement of perceived stress and depressive symptoms was performed using the Perceived Stress Scale and Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression, respectively. These measures were collected at three time points: baseline and following each 12-week intervention. The results indicated that both perceived stress and depression symptoms significantly improved following the walking intervention. While limitations existed with the study, it is evident that walking can be used as an efficient and cost-effective tool to manage perceived stress and depressive symptoms in people who have sustained a TBI.

Author(s):

Schneider JC, Ozsecen MY, Muraoka N, Mancinelli C, Della Croce U, Ryan CM, Bonato P.