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Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression are common among veterans. The current treatment for these conditions includes medication and psychotherapy. However, these treatments may not be effective for all individuals. “Wind therapy” (WT) is a term used to describe a motorcycle-based form of activity therapy offered through several formal treatment programs in the US. However, most participants engage informally via solo rides or through group rides organized by veterans' motorcycle clubs. The purpose of this study was to explore the positive effects of wind therapy on veterans with PTSD and depression.
Methods:
Data for this study were obtained from a survey study of demographic and mental health characteristics of participants (N=441) who engaged in therapeutic motorcycle riding to manage stress during the Covid-19 pandemic, conducted between June 2021 and March 2022. We divided a subsample of 147 veterans into two groups according to the clinical cutoff score on the PC-PTSD-5: “low” PTSD (n=80; score </=3) and “high” PTSD (n=67; score >3). We compared groups on depression, anxiety, suicidality, veteran status, and WT engagement (i.e., associated with WT participation) using linear regression.
Results:
Veterans were 14.5% Non-White, 12.3% Hispanic, 18.1% women/nonbinary, and ranged in age from 18 to 76 (M=45.1+/-13.2). Most were Army (47.2%) and had served in a war zone (66.7%). Veterans with high PTSD experienced significantly more depression, anxiety, suicidality, and days where symptoms interfered with WT participation but were not significantly different for resilience and level of WT engagement compared to the low PTSD group. The high PTSD group did not show significantly more improvement than the low group.
Conclusions:
We found WT had no significant effects on symptom self-management and social connection for veterans with military trauma. Despite experiencing significantly greater levels of mental health symptoms and reporting more symptom interference, veterans scoring high in PTSD did not see a significant improvement on their mental health symptoms at higher rates compared to veterans low in PTSD. Findings support the continued development, integration, and expansion of wind-centric approaches.
Implications:
The implications of this study were not significant for the treatment of veterans with PTSD and depression. Although wind therapy offers a non-invasive, low-risk treatment option, it did not show significant enough results at this time to replicate this specific study. However, wind therapy provides an opportunity for veterans to engage in a group activity and build supportive relationships with other veterans. Wind therapy may also have broader implications for the use of recreational therapy in mental health treatment. Further research is needed to explore the long-term effects of wind therapy and to determine the optimal dosage and frequency of treatment.