# Improving Mind/Body Health and Functioning with Integrative Exercise

> **NIH VA I01** · VETERANS AFFAIRS MED CTR SAN FRANCISCO · 2021 · —

## Abstract

Despite the considerable efforts of the VA to improve awareness of mental health problems and access to
care, many returning veterans still report substantial barriers to seeking traditional mental health care. There is
a large body of evidence demonstrating that aerobic exercise effectively improves many outcomes relevant to
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) including; anxiety, depression, insomnia, cognition, and cardiovascular
disease. In addition, there is a rapidly growing evidence base showing that aerobic exercise produces an
increase in the growth of new neurons (e.g., neurogenesis) and increases the volume of the hippocampus
which underscores the potential value of exercise for producing broad benefits to psychological health.
Recognizing the promise that exercise might hold for attracting more veterans into care and improving overall
health in veterans with PTSD, a team of investigators at the San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical
Center (SFVAMC) with funding from the Department of Defense developed a treatment protocol and
completed a pilot study of Integrative Exercise (Aerobic exercise and Breath Training 3 weekly sessions over
12 weeks) versus a waitlist control condition. Promising results from this trial have led us to the next step which
is to conduct a definitive efficacy study of Integrative Exercise versus an active health education control
condition: Illness Management and Recovery (IMR). The control condition will be matched on contact hours
with treatment personnel. The goal of this revised proposal is to test if Integrative Exercise improves overall
quality of life, PTSD symptoms, sleep quality, and measures of cardiovascular health in combat Veterans with
chronic PTSD relative to the IMR condition. Another goal is to test if improvements in quality of life are
predicted by improvements in cardiovascular fitness as measured by exercise capacity on treadmill testing.
Finally, the proposal will test if Integrative Exercise versus IMR will produce greater improvements in additional
health outcomes, including mood, subjective sleep quality, and PTSD symptoms.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10359673
- **Project number:** 5I01RX001939-06
- **Recipient organization:** VETERANS AFFAIRS MED CTR SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Thomas C Neylan
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-10-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10359673

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10359673, Improving Mind/Body Health and Functioning with Integrative Exercise (5I01RX001939-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10359673. Licensed CC0.

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