"Running, Cheaper Than Therapy"

“Running, cheaper than therapy.”

We’ve all seen this quote plastered on t-shirts, tanks, and other running apparel - but is it actually true? According to a recent study there may be some validity to this saying.

In a recent article, Running As Treatment for Depression, published in Comprehensive Psychiatry, a pilot study was conducted in attempt to determine if running has beneficial effects for patients seeking medical treatment for depression. The study consisted of 13 males and 15 female patients that were randomly assigned to either running, time-limited psychotherapy, or unlimited time psychotherapy as treatment. The patients assigned to the running group met with a group leader in the beginning of the study who taught them basic running skills such as breathing techniques, pace, distance, nutrition, and hydration; they ran with the instructor and on their own throughout the course of the ten week study.

By the end of the study the results showed that running was as effective as both types of psychotherapy for alleviating the patients symptoms. The article contributes this success rate to multiple changes that took place in the patient such as a biochemical change in the brain, consciousness alteration, substituting addictions for positive habits, gaining patience, mastering a skill, and distraction from their symptoms.

Unfortunately, there is some debate about how accurate this study’s results are. The control groups were very small, so it is hard to make any generalizations about the results found. It is also important to take into consideration those who showed little or no improvement by running. Two people dropped out before the trial even started and two women who did participate in the study showed very little improvement. However, the two patients who showed very little improvement had difficulties. One of the patients did not participate actively, not running as she was supposed to, and the other patient had a very negative attitude toward this treatment believing it would never work.

Although clearly still in the experimental stage, if running takes off as a form of treatment, depression could be much cheaper and more convenient to treat. According to the article, “the relative cost of treating one depressed patient is $115 for running versus $500 for psychotherapy..[so] if the treatments are equally effective in terms of outcome of depression, running is four times more cost effective as for this common health problem.”

Running also provides additional positive side effects for a person’s physical health as well as emotional health. This is often not the case with other forms of therapy like drug treatment, which has an enormous list of negative side effects.


So, apparently runners are not (that) crazy. Our silly quote we plaster on apparel, mugs, and even bumper stickers may have some truth behind it.

For further information feel free to consult the entire article Running As Treatment for Depression here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0010440X79900580