Won’t it make things worse if I exercise?
There is no evidence that physical activity in people who are in hospital causes harm. Physical inactivity, however, is thought to be the main cause of hospital associated deconditioning.
Tips you may wish to share
Start slowly and build up your activity gradually
Adapt physical activity to suit you – we have lots of resources that you can do in bed, or in a chair, if that is what you can manage at the moment
References
Valenzuela PL, Morales JS, Castillo-García A, et al. Effects of exercise interventions on the functional status of acutely hospitalised older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Ageing Res Rev 2020;61:101076. doi:10.1016/j.arr.2020.101076
Cortes OL, Delgado S, Esparza M. Systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental studies: In-hospital mobilization for patients admitted for medical treatment. J Adv Nurs 2019;75:1823–37. doi:10.1111/jan.13958
De Morton NA, Keating JL, Jeffs K. Exercise for acutely hospitalisedolder medical patients. Cochrane Database Syst Rev Published Online First: 2007. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD005955.pub
Martínez-Velilla N, Cadore EL, Casas-Herrero, et al. Physical activity and early rehabilitation in hospitalized elderly medical patients: Systematic review of randomized clinical trials. J Nutr Heal Aging 2016;20:738–51. doi:10.1007/s12603-016-0683-4
Kosse NM, Dutmer AL, Dasenbrock L, et al. Effectiveness and feasibility of early physical rehabilitation programs for geriatric hospitalized patients: A systematic review. BMC Geriatr 2013;13. doi:10.1186/1471-2318-13-107