Bulletin

Issue: May 2006

News

Lifting the weight of depression

La Trobe University physiotherapists are embar-king on research to ascertain whether exercise can reduce depression in people who have experienced a stroke.

With colleagues from the University of Melbourne, they have received an $85,000 grant from Beyondblue to look at the effects of exercise on 64 people after stroke.

La Trobe’s team, comprising Professor Karen Dodd, Head of the School of Physiotherapy, and senior lecturer Dr Nicholas Taylor, is currently recruiting participants through GPs, hospitals and rehabilitation programs.

Beyondblue – the national depression initiative – is a non-government Australian organisation providing information about depression to people with depression and their families, carers and health professionals.

Professor Dodd and Dr Taylor are well known internationally for research on the effect of strength training on cerebral palsy and other brain-damaged patients that has altered thinking among health professionals on the most effective rehabilitation.

The researchers will assess factors that influence people’s recovery from a stroke and, further, will explore whether exercise can improve well-being and reduce depression.

The research involves following over the course of a year volunteers who have had a stroke and asking about their recovery process and their health at four different times.

Some volunteers will undergo strength training by exercising with weights to ascertain its contribution to well-being and reduced depression. The exercise program will be conducted at the Hawthorn Aquatic and Leisure Centre.