The approach to create individual exercise routine for people with mental disabilities

Abstract

In recent years, it has been reported that sports activity increases the quality of life (QoL) for mentally disabled people, thus the promotion of sports for mentally disabled people has developed into a national initiative. To increase and maintain health, people must develop a healthy lifestyle and a habit of exercising that benefits the individuals’ health. The truth is that two-thirds of the nation’s people do not have an exercise routine and, even healthy persons only exercise periodically, consequently it is hard to maintain a prolonged exercise routine. The current study concentrates on an approach to maintaining a continued exercise routine. The participants in this study are patients in psychiatry clinic short-term care A (a 29-year-old male with obsessive-compulsive disorder) and B (a 27-year-old female with borderline personality disorder). For six months, aerobic exercise was incorporated into their daily lives. The results showed fitness improvement and an increase in the number of steps taken; compared with the participants’ previous lives, they had incorporated exercise into their daily routine. From the current study, it was found that to maintain a continuous exercise routine, it was important to have exercise as the intermediary between the patient and therapist to build relationships of trust.