Crank it up: Utilizing exercise to combat acute fatigue and pain in individuals with probable posttraumatic stress disorder.

Evidence has emerged highlighting the beneficial effects of exercise in reducing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but often fails to address the effects of exercise on other disabling symptoms. As such, examining changes in fatigue and pain following an acute bout of moderate-intensity continuous aerobic exercise (MICE) and a bout of high-intensity functional exercise (HIFE), relative to a no-exercise control (SED), in participants with PTSD seems warranted. Participants (N = 21) fatigue and pain were assessed before (Pre), immediate after (post0), 20-min after (Post20), and 40-min after (Post40) each condition. During HIFE, fatigue and pain increased from Pre to Post0 (Cohen’s d = 0.77 and Cohen’s d = 0.62; respectively) and both returned to baseline by Post40 (P = 0.55 and P = 0.76, respectively). Fatigue was significantly reduced at Post20 (Cohen’s d = 0.64) and marginally reduced at Post40 (Cohen’s d = 0.36) relative to Pre during MICE. Pain was not different at any time during MICE. While no adverse events occurred during MICE or HIFE, overall MICE resulted in reduced fatigue relative to HIFE (Cohen’s d = 0.67) without increasing pain.