Getting up and moving can aid your recovery

The movement and exercise classes at Healthy Options helped Adam get back to his usual self after his accident, and this is something more and more healthcare professionals are trying to encourage both in and after hospital.

Juliet Harvey and Erin Walker are physiotherapists and co-lead the NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde Active Wards Special Interest Group. “We are looking at how we can reduce unnecessary time spent sitting or lying in bed during hospital admission,” explained Erin.

“We want to displace that with as much physical activity as possible, thinking about the individual themselves and tailoring movement to their needs. Patients need to know that they have permission to move too. What we are trying to do is avoid deconditioning – the decline in physical function of the body as a result of physical inactivity – because that has a negative effect and very quickly in terms of both physical and mental health.” Juliet said there are multiple ways older people can get up and moving in hospital and at home, preventing or easing the effects of deconditioning.

“Since Covid we are seeing a lot of patients coming into hospital already quite deconditioned, having lost their fitness and ability to go out and socialise,” she said. “Those who are of the generation of thinking that you got to bed until you feel better if you are unwell maybe don’t realise the value of being up and moving around. We want to educate people on the importance of that.” Juliet added: “It can be as simple as getting up every hour and having a walk or a stand if they are able, or getting up to brush their teeth or wash their face. For a lot of people, we are not talking about doing exercise, it’s movement to break up sedentary periods.”