These small daily movements can assist a person on the road to recovery
By Jessica Blatt Press, AARP Published July 18, 2024
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It can happen seemingly overnight: Your once-active loved one gets sidelined with an injury, illness or surgical recovery, and suddenly just getting out of bed becomes a major challenge. Hospital stays can feel particularly demoralizing for that neighbor who was a Zumba devotee or that uncle who led his block’s power-walking club.
“You lose about 1 percent of your muscle mass for each day you’re in the hospital,” says Andrew J. Bach, a doctor of osteopathic medicine and a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist in the Nonoperative Spine Program at Cedars-Sinai Spine Center.
As challenging as a physical setback can be, there are exercises nearly anyone can do from bed with the support of a caregiver (and, first and foremost, the green light from your medical team, which you should always seek before starting a new exercise plan). “You can do a whole exercise routine just lying in bed,” says Michelle Hudson, a physical therapist at Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute.
The length of time you spend exercising matters less than you may think. “Even 10-minute bouts of exercise can lead to meaningful change and improvement,” says Ashleigh McAdam, a physical therapist and geriatric clinical specialist at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery. “Doing something is better than doing nothing.”
Caregivers can play a role by helping a loved one get into a comfortable position, keeping track of how many sets they’ve completed, or simply reminding and encouraging them to get moving. “Caregivers are so important in this process, whether it be for emotional or motivational support,” says Melissa Burns, a physical therapist and geriatric clinical specialist at Good Shepherd/Penn Partners, the official therapy provider for the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. “And when it comes to loved ones with memory impairment, [keeping track of whether someone did an exercise] and how many times they did it is so meaningful.”
Here, experts share their go-to bed workouts. Have the patient try to do each exercise five to 10 times, for two or three sets. As Hudson says, “If it feels easy, do more. If it feels challenging, do less.”
And remember, as Bach says: “You’ve got to start somewhere, and even the smallest amount of bed-level exercises can be helpful.”
The ankle pump
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“The first thing I start with is a simple ankle pump, just moving your toes up and down, like you’re easing on and off the gas pedal,” Hudson says. You can lose a lot of range of motion in your ankles while in bed, Burns says. “When you lie in bed, gravity kind of brings your toes downward, so if you’re not actively bringing them up and down, you can get what we call contractures, or a loss of range of motion in that ankle joint. You don’t notice you’re losing it — and you need that range of motion to stand or walk.” Bonus: Getting the blood flowing in this way can help you avoid blood clots, McAdam says.
The heel slide
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Heel slides are an easy, efficient way to get people moving their knees. To do a heel slide, all you have to do is slide your heel along your bed, drawing it close to your bottom, then back down. “If someone is unable to do this on their own, it’s something a caregiver can safely help with,” Hudson says.
Leg lifts
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Once their ankles and knees are warmed up, encourage your loved one to bend one leg at a 90-degree angle with the foot flat while keeping the other leg straight. Try to lift the straight leg off the bed by even a few inches. Repeat on the other side (with the other leg bent). “The goal is to have them control their legs going both up and down,” Hudson explains.
The butt squeeze
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“It may sound silly, but the buttocks squeeze is a really great exercise,” Bach says. Have your loved one lie flat while clenching their glutes. Hold those muscles tight for three seconds, then relax, and repeat. “Your glutes are your biggest lower extremity extensor, and the force you use when you’re going up stairs,” Bach explains. The ability to navigate stairs can be the deciding factor in whether a patient can be discharged from a hospital to their home versus a rehab facility. “So keeping those muscles strong,” Bach says, “is really important.”
The neck roll
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When you’re lying in bed for a long time and have your head resting on a pillow, it can be easy to overlook your neck muscles. Keeping them strong will help you once you’re out of bed and moving around, Burns says. Start by “looking up towards the ceiling to get that cervical [neck] extension, and then tucking your chin and looking down, to get that cervical flexion.” Look to the left, then the right, as well.
The shoulder shrug
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Have your loved one lift their shoulders toward their ears, hold for a count of two, then release, and repeat. Simple shoulder shrugs can increase upper body strength, Burns says, helping with posture and, ultimately, mobility.
Arm lifts
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Arm lifts are a good way to keep your upper extremities strong, Burns says. “Starting with your arms straight, simply lift them up as far as you can in a pain-free range of motion,” Burns says. Some people can lift their arms over their heads; some can only lift a little bit off the bed — wherever you’re starting from, Burns says, is OK.
The body roll
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Trying to roll side-to-side in bed is important for preventing pressure sores and initiating the process of sitting up at the edge of the bed, Hudson says. Encourage your loved one to bend their knees in the direction they want to go, which will help them use their weight to their advantage.
Jessica Blatt Press is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, O: The Oprah Magazine, Parents, Redbook, Glamour, and more.
