The number of bedridden patients today is increasing with every passing day. Thanks to the added amount of ailments and medical conditions that bring people particularly the elderly ones to bed. Such patients find extreme difficulties in moving and doing other things which people of their age group with good health can easily do. This brings for them the issues like bed sores as they remain secluded from the physical activities, which in turn hampers their overall mobility to a great extent.
However, even if you find such patients limited to their beds, few exercises can help in gaining some mobility without making them uncomfortable. The seniors in bed can thus avert issues like bed sores and remain active at the same time. How about catching up the 7 Exercises for bedridden patients as under:
1) Palm Stretch to Enhance Mobility
This is regarded as the basic workout for bed-bound elderly people and very simple to consider. The patients can comfortably sit or lie down in their beds. This helps in building up their tolerance level and thus helps in getting mobility. You barely need any exercise equipment to carry out this workout session. Follow these steps to carry out this workout session:
Raise your hands up and then make it close your body.
- First, open your palm and stretch the fingers for five seconds. Make sure you should get the stretch feeling in your fingers’ root.
- Now you need to start touching each of your fingers individually to your thumb.
- Repeat the same with your other hand
- All you need to do is to repeat this workout session for a few times daily and increase your mobility.
2) Wrist Rotation to Help you Improve Mobility – one of the vital Exercises for bedridden patients
The workout for bed-bound elderly people deals with rotating your wrists that would demand a bit of strength giving them the best way to enhance flexibility, and mobility. The following steps can help you in carrying out this exercise:
- On your bed, you need to place your palm in the downward direction
- Now rotate your wrist in the direction of your little finger in a way that can put your thumb away from the bed
- Start moving your hands\’ poles apart so that you find your little finger moving against the bed
- Keep doing this for few times for not less than 10 seconds
- Keep in mind that while doing this exercise, you need to keep your forehead firm over the bed.
3) Arm Lift to Add Strength
This is yet another vital workout session for the seniors in bed, which helps a lot in enhancing the overall strength in your arms. You can easily do it independently or seeking the help of your near ones. This exercise can be carried out either by standing or lying down over the bed in the following ways:
- Lift one your arm as high as possible for not less than ten seconds. Now bring it down and then repeat the same slowly for the other arm.
- If you are able to carry out this exercise with comfort, increase the frequency of the same.
- In case if you find it stressful avoid doing this instead place the upper arm at the bed and then raise the elbow in a right angle.
4) Try Ankle Plantarflexion Dorsiflexion exercise
One of the vital Exercises for bedridden patients is ankle plantarflexion-dorsiflexion exercise that helps the seniors to enhance the overall motion of the body along with enhancing the blood circulation in the ankle areas.
- Start the exercise by lying down over the bad on the back and seeking the help of your near ones, hold your ankle and then the heel.
- Ask the person to bend your foot in the forward direction and then hold the same for few seconds till you get the feeling of your stretch.
- In the next session, ask the person to push over your foot in the upward direction slowly and then bring it back over the normal position.
- Keep repeating the same using the other leg.
5) Try Leg Lift
This workout session barely needs any exercise equipment, however, is recommended for seniors having decent health and fitness and have the stamina to carry out some specific steps that go as under:
- Lie down over your bed with the help of your back.
- Slowly and steadily bring your legs in the upward direction shifting towards the hip joint. Now you need to hold it for a while (25 seconds)
- Then bring the legs down again slowly and steadily
- Now you need to repeat the same steps using your other leg
- If you are able to carry out this exercise without any extra stress or pain, try this workout for a couple of times a day.
6) Try Hamstring Stretch to Strengthen Muscles
One of the vital Exercises for bedridden patients is the ankle plantarflexion-dorsiflexion workout session that helps in keeping the overall range of motion in a right shape and even helps in improving upon the blood circulation. Carry out the following ways:
- It starts with lying down over the bed with your back
- You need a person to help you and ask to hold you at the ankle side and then to your heel.
- Then he or she would bend your leg in the forward direction and then hold the same for a while (few seconds) till you get the feeling of a stretch.
- Ask the person to push over your foot in the upward direction slowly and then bring it back over the normal position
- Try repeating these steps with your other foot
7) Try the Single Leg Hip Lift
This exercise will help you a lot in preventing the muscle atrophy, (a medical condition that hampers your muscles while they remain idle), and it is common among the bedridden patients. You can carry out the exercise in the following ways:
- You need to lie down over the bed using your back
- Keep your leg in a bent position while you lie your foot over the bed and make the other one straight.
- Now you need to lift your hips over the bed and then apply some amount of force over the muscles for bending the leg. You need to hold in this position for a few seconds (10-20).
- Now get back to the starting position followed by repeating the same with another leg with the help of changing the position.
Final words
Bedridden patients can make or mar their lives making it bad to worse. However, you can get rid of the curse and make it a bit comfortable by trying a few workout sessions. The above seven exercises for bedridden patients can help them in getting some amount of relief, why not try them out.