Understanding Depression & Its Connection to Exercise

Learn to recognize depression in your patients and athletes, with special attention to how depression emerges following injury or cessation of exercise. Discover why over 20% of collegiate athletes experience depression and how exercise withdrawal of just one week can trigger significant mood changes. This foundation helps you identify when intervention is needed.

Evidence-Based Exercise Prescriptions for Depression

Master the clinical research on what actually works. Explore proven exercise protocols—including intensity, frequency, and duration—supported by rigorous studies. Learn how aerobic exercise over 6-12 weeks compares favorably to antidepressants and cognitive therapy, and discover that just 3 sessions of 30-minute moderate-intensity exercise per week produces measurable results.

The Science Behind the Benefits: Physiologic & Psychological Mechanisms

Understand the "why" behind exercise's antidepressant effects. Explore how physical activity enhances neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline), boosts endorphin release, and improves cerebral plasticity. Plus, learn the psychological benefits—increased self-efficacy, distraction from symptoms, and social connection—making exercise a multi-faceted intervention tool.

Why This Matters?

Depression affects over 20% of collegiate athletes and can worsen following injury. Learn how to leverage one of the most accessible, affordable, and well-tolerated interventions available—exercise.

The syllabus

1 Chapter · 8 Lessons

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      How to navigate this course

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Exercise as a treatment for depression

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      Test Your Learning

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

    5. (Included in full purchase)

      Test Your Learning

    6. (Included in full purchase)

      The impact of exercise on depression: how moving makes your brain and body feel better

    7. (Included in full purchase)

      Test your learning

    8. (Included in full purchase)

      CEU Certificate/ Information