Supine Absolute Basics – "The Bare Minimum"

After a hospital stay or serious illness where we didn’t move much, our muscles have gotten weaker, smaller and tighter, our bones aren’t as strong, and it may feel like it takes way too much effort to get around. You may also feel dizzy or unwell when you sit up. The good news is that we know exercise will help those feelings and that weakness go away.

If you need some absolute basics, doing these exercises regularly several times a day will help from developing blood clots, pressure ulcers or bedsores, and contractures (shortened, tight muscles).

Ankle pumps

Pointing and flexing the feet forward and back can help keep the range of motion in our ankles, decrease fluid buildup and prevent blood clots in our lower legs. Do this at least 10 times an hour but ideally more. Focus on going as far back and forward you can.

Heel slides

Heel slides help keep the range of motion at your knee & hip and start to strengthen your lower body.

Lying on your back with knees bent and feet flat, slowly slide your heel away from you, keeping it on the ground. Extend your leg out as far as you can! Now let’s bring it back towards the body. Then switch sides. Take care not to hold your breath as you are sliding your heel in and out: a good rule of thumb is to exhale through the hardest part of the exercise, which for most folks is when they are bringing the leg back. Repeat this, keeping your breath steady and even.  Oh, and as you see here, this exercise is hard to do smoothly with shoes on, so please do this in socks or bare feet and keep your movement smooth and controlled. Do as many as you can, several times a day, increasing the number you do each time as it gets easier and you feel stronger.

Rolling to one side or the other at least every two hours (but ideally more like every half hour) is an absolute must if you are not leaving your bed. When we lie in any position for a long time, we make it harder for blood to flow to our skin and tissues underneath. This causes the skin to break down, leaving wounds that can be very hard to heal.

Roll to one side, or get help to do so if needed. Stay in this position for at least 30 minutes. Roll to the other side, and stay in this position for at least another 30 minutes, but not longer than two hours. Check yourself or have a caregiver check for any areas of redness or sores on a regular basis.

 

As these absolute basics feel easier, or if you’re looking to try some simple upper body exercises, please check out the other exercise videos.

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