Abstract:
Depression and associated disorders (such as anxiety, irritability, insomnia, appetite disorders, sadness, and lack of interest) are common after traumatic brain injuries (TBI) or concussions. We are interested in examining whether aerobic exercise would be helpful to improve mood and lessen the severity of these symptoms in persons who have had mild to moderate TBI or concussion. In this study, we will randomize participants into two groups; each participating in 10 supervised exercise sessions at North Seattle Community College Wellness Center. While in the exercise program, each individual will have practice and assistance in planning a home exercise program to be done during the exercise program (and, hopefully, after the study is finished). The experimental group will be enrolled in the exercise program immediately after a baseline assessment is completed. The control group will be asked to wait until the following session. Both groups will have another assessment of symptoms after 10 weeks. This will allow us to compare the outcomes of the experimental group who finished the program with the control group that has not yet done the exercise program.

The subjects in the experimental group will then be followed for another 6 months. We will call them every two weeks to check up on how well they are managing to exercise and to make recommendations to overcome barriers to exercising. This group will be assessed again six months after the supervised exercise program is completed. The areas we will measure for this study include the presence of depression, anxiety, thinking abilities, function at home, participation in community activities, quality of sleep and presence of pain complaints. Our overall aims in doing this study are to: 1). decrease the severity of depression in persons with chronic TBI, 2). improve anxiety, insomnia, pain, and impaired cognitive functioning, 3). improve activity and participation for patients with TBI and, 4). improve overall quality of life.