Establishing Community to Extend Recovery Through Sober Fitness Fellowship

Background: Existing substance use disorder guidelines are deficient in reducing relapse rates, evidenced by the substantial number of persons experiencing relapse within months of recovery, with most relapsing within one year. Current interventions lack community reinforcement approaches to reduce relapse and risk factors required to combat the extensive damages related to substance use as costs exceed $1 trillion annually. Guided by the Social Cognitive Model, this quality improvement project aims to explore how group exercise combined with community reinforcement reduces relapse. It aims to boost recovery capital by improving quality of life scores. Methods: A CrossFit instructor delivered personalized group exercise and wellness education in-person biweekly for six weeks. Adult residential treatment clients were eligible to participate recruited via a flyer upon treatment entry. A pre-intervention demographic questionnaire, a pre-/post World Health Organization Quality of Life Abbreviated scale (reliability ? = > 0.70) assessing intervention influence on the quality of life, and a post-intervention survey was administered. The lead investigator performed all data distribution and collection. Institutional Review Board approval safeguarded participants' rights and risks. Results: Pre/post improvements observed in all domains; psychological and environmental were statistically significant, while 100% of participants reported enhanced QoL, social support, & confidence related to long-term sobriety post-intervention. Discussion/Conclusion: Desired outcomes are increased quality of life scores to boost recovery capital. A sober community reinforcement approach combined with exercise may link to reducing relapse and total costs related to this growing public health crisis.