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Exercises for bedridden people should be done twice a day, every day, and they serve to improve skin elasticity, prevent muscle loss and maintain joint movement. In addition, these exercises also improve blood circulation by preventing decubitus ulcers, also called bedsores.
In addition to physical exercises, it is also important that the person bedridden does breathing exercises, as they help to maintain the functioning of the breathing muscles and ensure greater lung capacity, making the person breathe better and have a more effective cough, in case they need to expel phlegm, for example.
Exercises should always be performed slowly and respecting the limits of each person. Ideally, the exercises are recommended by a health professional, especially a physical therapist.
1. Exercises for physical mobility
Some great exercises to maintain the mobility of the bedridden person and strengthen the muscles are:
Legs and feet
- With the person lying on his back, ask him to move his ankles, from side to side and from top to bottom, as if he were doing the 'ballerina foot' movement. Each movement must be performed 3 times with each foot;
- Lying on his back, the person should bend and stretch his legs 3 times in a row, with each leg;
- Lying on your back and legs bent. Open and close the legs, touching and spreading one knee from the other;
- With your belly up and with your leg straight, raise your leg up, keeping your knee straight;
- With the belly up and the leg straight, open and close the leg, outside the bed, without bending the leg;
- Bend your legs and try to lift your butt off the bed, 3 times in a row.
Arms and hands
- Open and close your fingers, open and close your hands;
- Support your elbow on the bed and move your hands up and down and from side to side;
- Fold your arms, trying to put your hand on your shoulder, 3 times in a row, with each arm;
- With your arm straight, lift your arm upwards without bending your elbow;
- Keep the arm still and stretched along the body and make the movement of opening and closing the arm, dragging the arm on the bed;
- Rotate the shoulder as if you were drawing a large circle on the wall.
Some important guidelines are to repeat the series of exercises 2 to 3 times, with an interval of 1 to 2 minutes of rest between them and to repeat 1 to 3 days a week, with a minimum of 48 hours of rest between sessions.
Easily accessible objects such as a full water bottle, sand bags, rice or bean packaging can be used to increase exercise resistance, contributing to increased muscle mass.
2. Breathing exercises
If the bedridden person is able to get out of bed, he / she can perform this breathing exercises sitting on the bed or standing. The exercises are:
- Place your hands on your belly and breathe in calmly, while observing the movements felt in your hand;
- Take a deep breath and let it out slowly, making a 'pout' with your mouth for 5 times in a row;
- Inhale deeply while raising your arms and letting out the air when you lower your arms. To make it easier you can do it with one arm at a time;
- Stretch your arms forward and touch your palms together. Inhale deeply while opening your arms in the shape of a cross. Release the breath while closing your arms and touching your palms again, 5 times in a row.
- Fill half a 1.5 liter bottle of water and place a straw. Inhale deeply and release the air through the straw, making bubbles in the water, 5 times in a row.
These are just a few examples of exercises. It is recommended that the exercises are always indicated by a physiotherapist, according to the needs of each person, especially when the person cannot perform the movements alone due to lack of strength in the muscles or when there is some neurological alteration involved, as can happen after a stroke, myasthenia or quadriplegia, for example.
When not to do the exercises
It is contraindicated to do the exercises when the person bedridden:
- You just ate because you might be sick;
- You just took some medicine that causes drowsiness;
- You have a fever, because exercise may increase the temperature;
- You have high or unregulated blood pressure, because it may rise even more;
- When the doctor does not authorize for some other reason.
One should try to do the exercises in the morning, when the person is wide awake and if the pressure rises during the exercises, one should stop the exercise and do the first breathing exercise until the pressure returns to normal.