Walking Speeds Hospital Patients’ Recovery

How do you get out of the hospital faster? Walk. That’s the conclusion from an Israeli study of nearly 500 patients over 70 years old. They were hospitalized for at least two days and those who did not have restricted mobility were asked to record their physical activity during their hospital stay. Those who walked around their rooms or roamed the ward had shorter stays, by about a day and a half on average. The researchers suggest that older people may mistakenly feel that when they are hospitalized they have to stay in bed. If nurses and doctors encourage older patients to get moving as soon as possible, they may be able to go home sooner.
[Archives of Internal Medicine, July 25, 2011]