Portiuncula Hospital is pushing a new ‘End PJ Paralysis’ campaign to encourage patients to get out of bed and moving.
Staff at Portiuncula Hospital kickstarted a 70 day campaign this month to get patients out of bed, dressed to impress, and exercising their muscles to stop them from becoming bedbound.
It’s been shown that being mobile, up and about as close to normal as they can manage, helps patients to recover more quickly from injury and illness.
Research has shown that 10 days in bed can lead to 10 years of aging in the muscles of people over the age of 80, according to information from Portiuncula.
During this campaign which will run Monday-Friday until May 10 patients are being provided with a “Get Active Booklet” which includes information on the importance of remaining active and includes helpful tips and exercises that can be done while in hospital.
In addition, the Physiotherapy and Occupation Therapy Departments are organising a daily active hour from 2-3pm around different themes such as Balance and Bone Health, Breathing and Brain Training.
Each day of the week until May 10 there will be activities taking place at Portiuncula Hospital connected to different aspects of physical wellbeing:
- Mondays: Physiotherapy Department – Breathing
- Tuesdays: Physiotherapy Department – Healthy Bladder and Bowel
- Wednesdays: Physiotherapy Department – Balance and Bone Health
- Thursdays: Occupational Therapy Department – Brain Training
- Thursdays: Front Reception – Tackling Frailty Thursday
- Fridays: Physiotherapy Department – Fit 4 Friday
Patients are advised when packing for a hospital stay to include loose comfortable clothing to change into during the day and good fitting non-slip shoes.
