Effects of exercise training on patients with schizophrenia

Thirty one sedentary patients with schizophrenia were randomly assigned by simple random allocation (drawing lots) to a dance group (group A; 16 patients), who participated in a traditional dancing exercing program which was administered by a dance teacher, or to a control group (group B; 15 patients). The dancing exercise program was specifically designed to meet the abilities of patients with schizophrenia, jointly by a physical education teacher, who was a professional experienced dance instructor and had extensive experience in fitness, dancing and rehabilitation. Allocation sequence was concealed until intervention was assigned. Patients were recruited from a psychiatric outpatient department of AHEPA hospital, in where they were staying enclosed. The eight-month supervised training program was carried out in the psychiatric outpatient department, where the patients were staying, three times a week. The warm-up period lasted 10 min and included stretching. The dance phase lasted 40 min and consisted of basic, low impact steps, performed in a single group while holding hands in a hemi-cycle. The exercise program was ending with a cool-down phase that lasted 10 minutes. The dances were practiced in a progressive order from the simplest and least physically demanding to the most complex and dynamic, in terms of movement elements. All dances were circle dances, starting with the right foot moving counter-clock-wise and were accompanied by traditional Greek music from different areas of Greece. The steps of the selected Greek dances were simple, such as stepping to the side, followed by a closing of the foot together or a passing of the foot in front or behind the other, single limb standing, hopping, jumping and trunk extension. The duration of each dance was 3-4 min and the breaks between dances lasted 15 s. At the beginning of the program, the intensity of the dances was low and increased progressively aiming to become moderate to high after week 16. The instructors ensured that the training intensity was set at an aerobic endurance level of 60–70 % of individual maximum heart rate, which was calculated individually for each participant using the ‘220-age’ formula. Heart rate of each participant was measured by instructors every 10 min during the training sessions. The patients were allowed to stop exercising whenever they felt uncomfortable.The attendance was calculated by the teacher who monitored attendance records