Effects of Eight Weeks Aerobic Training on Life Quality and Physical Well- Being of Male Drug Addicts

Abstract

The study investigated the impact of an eight-week aerobic training program on the life quality and physical well-being of male drug addicts. 26 male drug addicts were selected from the Siripa Sewana Rehabilitation Center in Kuruwita, Sri Lanka, and were randomly divided into two groups: an experimental group (n = 13) and a control group (n = 13). The experimental group underwent three morning aerobic exercise sessions per week, while the control group engaged in daily activities without specific training. A pre-test and post-test were conducted prior to and after the treatments to measure changes in general health, limitations of activities, physical and emotional health problems, social activities, pain, energy and emotions. The results of the SF36 questionnaire were compared betweengroup variance changes using a paired sample t-test. The experimental group showed a greater improvement in all variables than the control group, with pvalues of 0.000 at the 0.05 level. The experimental group had significant improvements in a number of health-related variables, including general health (p = 0.000), limitations of activities (p = 0.000), physical health problems (p = 0.000), social activities (p = 0.000), and pain (p = 0.000). They also had a significant improvement in energy and emotions (p = 0.000) compared to the control group. The experimental group showed no significant improvement in emotional health problems (p = 0.391) compared to the control group. Aerobic training can positively impact the life quality and physical well-being of male drug addicts, providing recommendations to include structured exercise programs in rehabilitation plans.