“I Want a New Drug”: Exercise as a Pharmacological Therapy

• Published in: Journal of psychosocial nursing and mental health services Vol. 53; no. 8; pp. 13 - 16
• Main Author: Howland, Robert H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States SLACK INCORPORATED 01.08.2015
• Subjects: Drug therapy; Endocrine system; Exercise; Exercise - physiology; Exercise - psychology; Humans; Mental Disorders - nursing; Muscle, Skeletal - physiology; Nursing; Pharmacology; Physical fitness; Prescriptions - nursing; Psychiatric Nursing; Psychotropic Drugs - therapeutic use; Skeletal system; Treatment Outcome; United States > US
• ISSN: 0279-3695; 1938-2413
• DOI: 10.3928/02793695-20150727-03

Skeletal muscle can be considered a secretory organ that produces myokines and other humoral factors having autocrine-, paracrine-, and endocrine-like signaling effects throughout the body. Exercise has such profound pharmacological and physiological effects that it should be considered a drug therapy. Exercise has documented benefits for preventing or treating many physical and mental disorders or their sequelae, and it has a potential role in managing adverse effects associated with drug therapies. If exercise were a drug evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, it might be approved for a large number of therapeutic indications. Exercise can be appropriately prescribed for virtually anyone for primary, secondary, or tertiary prevention of many mental and physical disorders. [Skeletal muscle can be considered a secretory organ that produces myokines and other humoral factors having autocrine-, paracrine-, and endocrine-like signaling effects throughout the body. Exercise has such profound pharmacological and physiological effects that it should be considered a drug therapy. Exercise has documented benefits for preventing or treating many physical and mental disorders or their sequelae, and it has a potential role in managing adverse effects associated with drug therapies. If exercise were a drug evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, it might be approved for a large number of therapeutic indications. Exercise can be appropriately prescribed for virtually anyone for primary, secondary, or tertiary prevention of many mental and physical disorders. [ Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 53 (8), 13–16.]