Research paper
Heroin users’ views and experiences of physical activity, sport and exercise

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2011.06.004Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

Although there is limited research on heroin users’ participation in physical activity, sport and exercise, public health literature asserts that being physically active is good for individuals. Critics, however, caution that the benefits of sport and exercise are overstated and sport may itself reinforce or create inequalities.

Methods

In-depth interviews were conducted with 40 current or ex-heroin users, of whom 37 were re-interviewed three months later. Data from all 77 interviews were analysed to explore individuals’ self-reported participation in physical activity, sport and exercise; their desire to participate; and any barriers to participation experienced.

Findings

Participants were very interested in sport and exercise and engaged in a wide variety of active pastimes. Although they did little structured sport or exercise during periods of heavy heroin use, they still often walked or cycled. Enjoyment was a key feature of being physically active in treatment and in early recovery. Additionally, individuals reported diverse health and social gains and felt that sport and exercise helped them to reduce their heroin use. These benefits notwithstanding, there were personal, social and structural barriers to being active and so individuals were generally keen to take advantage of any sport or exercise opportunities offered to them by services.

Conclusions

By focusing on the meanings that heroin users themselves attribute to being active, our analyses reveal that members of this population derive great pleasure from all manner of physical pastimes. A small but growing literature on embodied sporting practices helps us to interpret this. We conclude that there is an important role for physical activity, sport and exercise within policy and practice responses to heroin use, but with a need to be creative and flexible regarding the kinds of activities promoted.

Section snippets

Background

Historically, research has tended to focus on the dangerous and harmful aspects of heroin users’ lives, with very few studies investigating their participation in more wellness-focused physical activities. Exceptions to this include a small number of studies which indicate that drug users, including injectors, do participate in sport and exercise (Drumm et al., 2005, Duterte et al., 2001, Holt and Treloar, 2008, Neale et al., 2007, Plugge et al., in press, Powers et al., 1999) and suggestive

The study and methods

The data presented in this paper are part of a larger qualitative study of recovery from heroin use. This work has been funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), with ethical approval granted by the National Research Ethics Service. We here draw upon two stages of that research: i. 40 in-depth interviews conducted with current or ex-heroin users (21 men and 19 women) and ii. follow-up interviews conducted 3 months later with 37 of the initial 40 participants (20 men and 17

Physical activity, sport and exercise biographies

To begin, we consider our study participants’ personal histories of physical activity, sport and exercise. Significantly, nearly half of those interviewed (males and females) reported that they had routinely participated in sport and exercise when they were children or teenagers. Moreover, many of them had taken their sporting endeavours very seriously. The kinds of activities they engaged in were varied, but included fairly typical youthful and school-based pastimes, such as athletics,

Discussion

Our paper has set out to explore the extent to which current and ex-heroin users participate, want to participate and encounter problems when trying to participate in physical activity, sport and exercise. As with any study, there are limitations. In particular, we are reliant on the self-reports of a relatively small number of individuals who were all starting treatment or had recently become opioid free in the South of England in 2009. From these data, we cannot quantify exactly how much

Conclusions

Findings from our study indicate that male and female heroin users are interested in physical activity, sport and exercise, and will be physically active whenever they can. Despite this, they frequently encounter personal, social and structural barriers which can hinder their participation. From this we conclude that there is an important role for physical activity, sport and exercise programmes within policy and practice responses to heroin use. However, this is likely to work best if goals

Acknowledgements

The Everyday Lives Study was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (Grant Number RES-062-23-1016: A sociological investigation into the everyday lives of recovering heroin users). The authors wish to thank the ESRC; all of the research participants; staff from all services who assisted with recruitment; and two anonymous reviewers who provided helpful comments on an earlier draught.

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