Anti-pain gymnastics. On a patient’s bed…

Everyone knows that movement is life, and anyone can formulate the opposite statement on his own. Any disease limits physical capacity; this is particularly evident if the patient is bedridden. If immobility lasts more than a few days, complications are inevitable, and some of them are even fatal. For example, slowing down of blood circulation in the leg veins leads to the formation of blood clots. Blood clots are dangerous because they can travel through the bloodstream to the lungs or the brain, leading to sudden death.  As a doctor, I can give you a piece of advice, especially for elderly patients and those who care for them: to prevent complications of prolonged periods of inactivity, you should wrap the legs with elastic bandages or wear compression stockings for the duration of any disease that limits mobility.

When a person is in bed all the time, respiratory as well as motor load is affected. This reduces the ability to clear the respiratory tract. Therefore, bedridden patients suffer from bronchitis and pneumonia as common complications which can often cause death.

If you’ve ever had a broken arm or leg, you know how hard it is to regain strength and mobility after removal of a plaster cast.  Muscles, ligaments, and tendons are restricted so the joint has not been allowed to fully flex.

When a person is lying down all the time, blood circulation dramatically decreases throughout the body, including to the vital organs – the heart, brain, kidneys, etc. That is why modern medicine makes even patients with acute myocardial infarction start exercise as early as possible; movement increases blood flow and promotes more rapid rehabilitation and reconstruction.

What can I say about patients who have undergone spinal surgery? A surgeon cuts and moves muscles during the operation so the patient remains quiet for the first few days after surgery. Pain and muscle spasms prevent any unnecessary movements. But after a few days the patient should start moving and exercising. Even small movements of the operated spinal muscles done correctly will stimulate healing and recovery much more effectively than lying passively in bed.

There is usually not a lot of extra space for exercise, so it is often done in bed. ANTI-PAIN GYMNASTICS allows the patient to start training in bed. This stimulates blood circulation and breathing, prevents muscle cramps, venous thrombosis, and encourages more rapid recovery.

Summary

• A bed-bound patient often dies, not from the primary disease, but from complications associated with immobility.
• Limited mobility of the body slows down the healing process.
• ANTI-PAIN GYMNASTICS is an effective system of promoting the recovery of a surgical patient.