Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41708741›Full record

Trial reportScientific reports2026

The effect of daily aerobic cycling exercise on cannabis withdrawal: An inpatient randomised controlled trial.

Llewellyn Mills, Kieron Rooney, Danielle McCartney, Bridin Murnion, Jonathon C Arnold, Anjali Bhardwaj, Paul S Haber, Thomas Arkell, Elisha Richards, Iain S McGregor and 1 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Llewellyn MillsDrug and Alcohol Services, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, c/o The Langton Centre, 591 South Dowling Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, NSW, 2010, Australia. llew.mills@sydney.edu.au.
Kieron RooneyCharles Perkins Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Danielle McCartneyLambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Bridin MurnionSpecialty of Addiction Medicine, Faculty Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, NSW, Sydney, Australia.
Jonathon C ArnoldLambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Anjali BhardwajDrug and Alcohol Services, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, c/o The Langton Centre, 591 South Dowling Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, NSW, 2010, Australia.
Paul S HaberSpecialty of Addiction Medicine, Faculty Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, NSW, Sydney, Australia.
Thomas ArkellCentre for Mental Health and Brain Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, Australia.
Elisha RichardsLambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Iain S McGregor *Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Nicholas Lintzeris *Drug and Alcohol Services, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, c/o The Langton Centre, 591 South Dowling Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, NSW, 2010, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Aerobic exercise can reduce withdrawal symptoms from tobacco and other drugs but its potential to alleviate cannabis withdrawal remains unexplored. This study investigated whether aerobic exercise can reduce the severity of cannabis withdrawal. Forty-six adults were randomised to (i) 35 min of aerobic cycling exercise (n=24), or (ii) stretching (n=22) each day for seven days. Withdrawal, cravings, exertion, free-fatty acids, triglycerides, and cannabinoids were measured during sessions. We hypothesised that exercise would cause release of THC from fat stores and reduce withdrawal in this way. Self-reported withdrawal and plasma cannabinoids decreased across the inpatient stay, however there were no significant differences between the cycling and stretching groups in withdrawal symptoms, cannabis craving, or plasma cannabinoids, despite significantly greater objective and perceived exertion in the cycling group. Exercise did not increase plasma cannabinoid concentrations despite a slight increase in free-fatty acid and triglycerides. Cannabis use was greatly reduced post-trial, with a third of participants remaining abstinent throughout the 28-day post-treatment period. The absence of between-group differences in withdrawal prevents us from concluding that aerobic exercise confers benefits for individuals undergoing inpatient cannabis withdrawal. Mild stretching exercises are easily integrated into clinical services and self-guided withdrawal attempts and may have beneficial effects. Trial Registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12615000211561) https://www.anzctr.org.au.

Indexed as

BicyclingCannabisExerciseMarijuana AbuseSubstance Withdrawal SyndromeAdultCannabinoidsFemaleHumansInpatientsMaleYoung AdultCannabinoidsCannabisDependenceExerciseOutcomesRCTTreatment

Identifiers

PMID41708741
PMCPMC13005007

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.