Skip to main content

REVIEW article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1483523
This article is part of the Research Topic Towards a Psychophysiological Approach in Physical Activity, Exercise, and Sports-Volume IV View all 11 articles

Physiology mechanisms of exercise for PTSD：A narrative review

Provisionally accepted
Hongding Dong Hongding Dong 1Zhiyi Lin Zhiyi Lin 2*
  • 1 Jimei University, Xiamen, China
  • 2 Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In at-risk societies, the population of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) incidence is gradually expanding from veterans to the general public. In the face of the high incidence of PTSD, exercise therapy, as an economical and maneuverable treatment, has not received the attention it deserves. In this paper, the literature on PTSD symptom improvement through comb-climbing exercise interventions found that performing long-term exercise can achieve significant improvement in PTSD symptoms by modulating the central nervous system, autonomic nervous system, and immune system at the physiological level. Aerobic exercise (running, walking) is beneficial to the central nervous system and immune system; anaerobic exercise positively affects the autonomic nervous system, including resistance or strength endurance training; yoga, which focuses on flexibility and balance training, has a positive effect on the immune system. Future research should explore the neutral and negative effects and mechanisms of exercise on PTSD interventions. Expand more empirical studies in special occupational populations. And implement longitudinal intervention studies with PTSD patients to gain an in-depth understanding of PTSD intervention effects.

    Keywords: Post-traumatic stress disorder, Exercise Intervention, mechanisms, exercise and mental health, Physiological mechanisms

    Received: 07 Sep 2024; Accepted: 13 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Dong and Lin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Zhiyi Lin, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.