Exercise as good as medicine for stress, says U of S doctor

Dr Patrick Ling, a family physician at the University of Saskatchewan, prescribes exercise for some of his patients who are suffering mental distress.

Ling has adopted Exercise is Medicine, an initiative launched by the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Medical Association in 2007. It calls for healthcare providers to assess and review patients' physical activity programs and prescribe exercise or refer them to a qualified fitness professional.

Ling said he started writing prescriptions for exercise last June for his patients struggling with mood and anxiety disorders.

"Often times students are away from home, under significant stress with a new living situation." Ling said. "As a result some people are under mental distress."

Ling's exercise prescription connects his patients to a health and fitness coordinator at the College of Kinesiology. They receive a free, two-hour session to help them develop an exercise program. The goal is to get patients exercising at least 30 minutes a day.

"Somehow it resets the mind, resets the brain so that one can concentrate better, one can really get down to a grounded base line," Ling said. When stressers are taken away medications for treating some diseases, such as diabetes, may not be needed, Ling said.

"There is enough evidence to say that exercise works," Ling said. "And if it means a person doesn't have to take their blood pressure medicine, which is $50 to $60 dollars a month, but instead gets a gym membership then the equation is essentially the same."

Ling said he's prescribed exercise to about 12 patients so far. He hopes the Exercise for Medicine program can continue. He said that will depend on demand.