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Review: Physical exercise in Tourette syndrome – a systematic review
Author(s) -
Reilly Colin,
Grant Michael,
Bennett Sophie,
Murphy Tara,
Heyman Isobel
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
child and adolescent mental health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.912
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 1475-3588
pISSN - 1475-357X
DOI - 10.1111/camh.12263
Subject(s) - observational study , psychological intervention , tourette syndrome , medicine , medline , physical therapy , intervention (counseling) , randomized controlled trial , anxiety , tics , psychiatry , physical medicine and rehabilitation , political science , law
Background Tourette syndrome ( TS ) is a common neuropsychiatric disorder which, in addition to the core symptoms of motor and vocal tics, includes a high association with co‐existing mental health disorders. Physical exercise is increasingly being recommended as part of management for children and young people with mental health problems. However, there is a lack of guidance regarding the role of physical exercise in the management of TS in children. Methods EMBASE , MEDLINE , Psyc INFO , SportDiscus, Google scholar and Cochrane register of controlled trials ( CENTRAL ) databases were searched. Studies investigating interventions aimed at reducing core symptoms of TS and comorbidities and exploring the relationship between physical exercise and tic severity were included. Results Seven studies were identified. Five focused on physical exercise interventions and two were observational studies investigating the relationship between tic severity and physical activity. There was some evidence indicating that physical exercise reduces tic severity in the short term and some evidence regarding the benefit of physical exercise on associated co‐occurring symptoms, such as anxiety. However, none of the intervention studies involved randomisation and interventions varied in terms of content and duration. Conclusions There was some evidence of a short‐term improvement in tic expression as a result of physical exercise interventions, but there is a lack of methodologically robust studies. Thus, conclusions about the impact of exercise on TS symptoms or comorbidities cannot be drawn at this stage. There is a clear need for well‐designed methodologically robust studies, including prospective observational studies and randomised controlled designs.