{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T01:24:30Z","timestamp":1792718670371,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,20]],"date-time":"2023-07-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1689811200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>This randomized controlled trial examined the effectiveness of physical activity added to an intensive trauma-focused treatment (TFT) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in comparison to adding non-physical control activities.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A total of 119 patients with PTSD were randomly assigned to a physical activity condition (PA; <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 59) or a non-physical activity control condition (nPA; <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 60). The 8-day intensive TFT programme consisted of daily prolonged exposure, EMDR therapy, and psychoeducation, which was complemented with physical activities versus controlled mixtures of guided (creative) tasks. As a primary outcome, the change in clinician and self-reported PTSD symptoms from pre-to post-treatment and at 6 months follow-up were measured.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Intent-to-treat linear mixed-effects models showed no significant differences between the PA and nPA conditions on change in PTSD severity. Clinician and self-reported PTSD symptoms significantly decreased for both conditions, with large effect sizes (e.g., CAPS-5 <jats:italic>d<jats:sub>pre-post<\/jats:sub><\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20092.28). At post-treatment, 80.0% in the PA, and 82.7% in the nPA condition no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Regarding the loss of Complex PTSD diagnoses this was 92.5% and 95.0%, respectively.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Either with additional physical or non-physical activities, intensive TFT is very effective for the treatment of (Complex) PTSD, as reflected by large effect sizes and loss of diagnostic status in both groups.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Clinical trial registration<\/jats:title><jats:p>Trialregister.nl Identifier: Trial NL9120.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2023.1215250","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,21]],"date-time":"2023-07-21T08:18:15Z","timestamp":1689927495000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":28,"title":["Adding physical activity to intensive trauma-focused treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder: results of a randomized controlled trial"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Eline M.","family":"Voorendonk","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sarita A.","family":"Sanches","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marieke S.","family":"Tollenaar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elisabeth A.","family":"Hoogendoorn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ad","family":"de Jongh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Agnes","family":"van Minnen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"362","DOI":"10.1002\/da.22043","article-title":"Let\u2019s get physical: a contemporary review of the anxiolytic effects of exercise for anxiety and its disorders","volume":"30","author":"Asmundson","year":"2013","journal-title":"Depress. 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