Critical care experts at Johns Hopkins are reporting reduced recovery times and reduced muscle wasting among critically ill patients who participate in mild physical therapy exercises during their hospital stays.
“ICU-related muscle weakness is the number one factor in prolonging a patient’s recovery and delaying their return to a normal life, including work and recreational activities,” said researcher Dale Needham, MD, PhD, in a news release.
In the new report, Needham and colleagues describe muscle-strengthening exercises that can be introduced early into the treatment plans of critically ill patients. Needham’s team, including two physical therapists, have used these exercises in treating over 400 patients in The Johns Hopkins Hospital’s medical ICU in the past year.
The ICU patients are undergoing electrical stimulation to strengthen leg muscles, getting up to walk around the ICU, and cycling while lying in bed using a motorized stationary bicycle affixed to the bed.
For the half-hour walks, patients remain connected to their ventilators, heart monitors, and other equipment while using a standard walker. A nurse and physical and respiratory therapists accompany and monitor the patient.
According to Eddy Fan, MD, an instructor at Hopkins who collaborates on research with Needham, the long-term complications from stays in the ICU have come to light as survival rates in critically ill patients have improved over the last 20 years. He says many more people are now surviving after being admitted with acute respiratory distress syndrome.
“Bed rest often only compounds the problem and makes it worse,” said Fan. “Many patients are already weak when they arrive in the ICU, having been sick for a while, and having dropped weight as a result of poor appetite. So they are often starting from a personal low point when they get here, and the lack of physical activity only hastens their decline.”
Since the introduction of early mobility practices in the ICU, average stays in Hopkins’ medical ICU have dropped by as much as two days (more than 20%), Fan said.
“ICU-related muscle weakness is the number one factor in prolonging a patient’s recovery and delaying their return to a normal life, including work and recreational activities,” said researcher Dale Needham, MD, PhD, in a news release.
In the new report, Needham and colleagues describe muscle-strengthening exercises that can be introduced early into the treatment plans of critically ill patients. Needham’s team, including two physical therapists, have used these exercises in treating over 400 patients in The Johns Hopkins Hospital’s medical ICU in the past year.
The ICU patients are undergoing electrical stimulation to strengthen leg muscles, getting up to walk around the ICU, and cycling while lying in bed using a motorized stationary bicycle affixed to the bed.
For the half-hour walks, patients remain connected to their ventilators, heart monitors, and other equipment while using a standard walker. A nurse and physical and respiratory therapists accompany and monitor the patient.
According to Eddy Fan, MD, an instructor at Hopkins who collaborates on research with Needham, the long-term complications from stays in the ICU have come to light as survival rates in critically ill patients have improved over the last 20 years. He says many more people are now surviving after being admitted with acute respiratory distress syndrome.
“Bed rest often only compounds the problem and makes it worse,” said Fan. “Many patients are already weak when they arrive in the ICU, having been sick for a while, and having dropped weight as a result of poor appetite. So they are often starting from a personal low point when they get here, and the lack of physical activity only hastens their decline.”
Since the introduction of early mobility practices in the ICU, average stays in Hopkins’ medical ICU have dropped by as much as two days (more than 20%), Fan said.
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