The Negative Effects of Bed Rest on Seniors | 1800HomeCare (2024)

Flu season is upon us. It begins in October / November, andthe peak monthsspan from December to March. During this time of year, more people end up onbed rest. For those of us over age 67, or who care for someone in that agerange, it’s important to understand that seniors experience bed restdifferently than people in their youth or middle age.

As we get older, we gain strength more slowly from exerciseand lose it more quickly from rest. Most people lose roughly 30% of theirmuscle mass from middle age up. There are ways to preventage-related strength loss, but when a senior is sick and needs bed rest,that’s a different matter.

What Happens to Strength During Bed Rest?

A normal muscle at complete rest loses up to 15% of itsstrength each week.¹ That is for middle-age people who are not sick.Illness can accelerate this strength loss! Age accelerates the loss of strengthas well. During bed rest, leg and trunk muscles atrophy first. These musclesdetermine gaitand posture – two common problem areas for seniors.

Is Bed Rest Worse for Seniors?

It’s easy for healthcare professionals and people of allages to underestimate the effects of bed rest on seniors. So how much worse isbed rest for seniors? Among a test sample of healthy people age 67+, 10 days ofbed rest resulted in more lean tissue loss than 28 days of bed rest caused inyounger participants!^2,3 Inother words, for a senior, a little more than a week of bed rest is about asbad as a month of bed rest would be for a middle-age person. During bed rest,seniors lost strength almost three times as fast, and that doesn’t account forthe effects of illness. That was on healthy test subjects.

What Happens to Seniors After Bed Rest?

For patients over the age of 70, bed rest correlates with amajor new disability in one out of three prolonged cases.^3,4 Whenbed rest is needed, seniors tend to spend more time than needed in bed orsitting.³ The sudden loss of strength and fitness often causes alack of self-confidence and fear of self-injury. In some cases, this isrightfully so. After the injury or illness causing bed rest is over, manyseniors experience considerable risk associated with the loss of fitness.

How Can Seniors Recover from Bed Rest?

First, families may want to consider non-medicalhome care during bed rest and for a few months after. This can promotequality of life, provide the peace of mind that encourages greater activity,and mitigate the risk of fall injuries and other problems associated with theperiod following bed rest.

Most seniors do not fully recover from bed rest in a timelyfashion. Rather, they adapt to their newly lowered level of fitness. It doesn’thave to be this way, though. Intensive exercise can improve the odds of fullrecovery, speed recovery, and prevent injuries that would only compound theproblems. Keep in mind that recovery from disuse weakness happens slower thanthe rate of loss. With intensive exercise, patients require 2.5 weeks of rehabper week of bed rest.⁵ This may be even longer for seniors who losestrength faster from disuse and gain strength more slowly from exercise. Ahealthcare professional such as a physical therapist can help seniors developthe most efficient exercise plan and make sure they exercise at the rightintensity for rapid recovery.

Home Health Sends Physical Therapy at No Cost to Seniors

In this scenario, it’s important to remember thattraditional Medicarepays 100% for home health. This includes in-home physical therapy. Whenseniors meet Medicare’sdefinition of homebound, home health can send a whole medical team to helpwith full recovery from injury or illness.

Conclusion

For seniors, bed rest means that recovery is not over afterthe injury heals or illness fades. Seniors also need to think about recoveringfrom the strength and fitness loss caused by inactivity. It’s important to notunderestimate how disuse affects seniors differently. Non-medical home care canhelp with activities of daily living to promote activity and safety during andafter illness. Medicare-certified home health can send nurses during illnessand physical therapists during strength rebuilding, all with Medicare paying100%. With knowledge and the right team, seniors can reliably get back on trackafter bed rest.

References:

1. Dittmer D, Teasell R. Complications ofimmobilization and bed rest – Part 1: musculoskeletal and cardiovascu-larcomplications. Can Fam Physician. 1993; 39: 1428-1437.
2. Karinkanta S, Pirrtola M, Sievanen H, et al.Physical therapy approaches to reduce fall and fracture risk among olderadults. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2010; 6: 396-407.
3. Brown C, Redden D, Flood K, Allman R. Theunrecognized epidemic of low mobility during hospitalization of older adults. Journalof the American Geriatric Society. 2009; 57 (9): 1660-1665.
4. Viccaro L, Parera S, Studenski S. Is timed upand go better than gait speed in predicting health, function, and falls inolder adults? J Am Geriatr Soc. 2011; 59 (5): 887-892.
5. Muller E. Influence of training and inactivityon muscle strength. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1970; 51: 449-62.

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