Physical activity interventions may improve function in temporarily non-ambulant older persons.
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Key Takeaway
Note that physical activity interventions may improve function in temporarily non-ambulant older persons, but evidence is scarce.
A scoping review analyzed ten studies focusing on older persons who are temporarily non-ambulant. The interventions evaluated included wheelchair mobilization, lower extremity strength training, seated physical activity programmes, and neuromuscular electric stimulation. No specific comparator was consistently reported across the included literature.
Regarding primary outcomes, the review found that these interventions were associated with improved ability to ambulate and walk. Secondary outcomes indicated an increase in muscle mass and power, a slower decline in physical activity levels, and a decrease in fear of falling. Specific effect sizes, absolute numbers, and p-values were not reported in the source data.
Safety and tolerability data were not reported for adverse events, serious adverse events, discontinuations, or overall tolerability. The review noted that studies regarding physical activity interventions for this specific population are scarce. Consequently, the certainty of these findings is limited by the scarcity of available research.
The practice relevance suggests a need to conduct future studies to support the development of hospital and in-patient geriatric rehabilitation guidelines for older persons who are temporarily non-ambulant. Clinicians should interpret these findings with caution given the observational nature of the review and the lack of detailed safety or statistical data.
View Original Abstract ↓
IntroductionOlder persons who are temporarily non-ambulant are often confronted with the adverse health effects of physical inactivity. These adverse health effects include sarcopenia, reduced strength, reduced health-related quality of life and increased mortality. To counteract those negative effects of immobility, it is important to know how older persons can stay physically active when they are temporarily unable to ambulate. Therefore, the aim of this scoping review was to provide an overview of physical activity interventions that can be performed by older persons who are temporarily non-ambulant.MethodA literature search was performed through PubMed, EMCARE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, PEDro, Academic search premier and Epistemonikos in August 2023 and updated in October 2024 and December 2025. Included were full-text, English-language articles, describing physical activity interventions for older persons who were temporarily non-ambulant.ResultsTen studies met the inclusion criteria. The physical activity interventions described in the studies were wheelchair mobilization, lower extremity strength training, (seated) physical activity programmes and neuromuscular electric stimulation. The effects of these interventions on physical fitness include; the ability to ambulate and walk, increase in muscle mass and power, slower decline in physical activity and a decrease in fear of falling.Conclusion and implicationsStudies regarding physical activity interventions that can be performed by older persons who are temporarily non-ambulant are scarce, even though being temporarily non-ambulant is common among older persons. This review highlights the need for future studies on how we can help temporarily non-ambulant older persons to remain physically active. We recommend to conduct future studies for the development of a hospital and in-patient geriatric rehabilitation guideline for those older persons.
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