Falls Prevention Week 2026 – Exercises

The primary goals of these exercises are preserving comfort, maintaining dignity, promoting circulation, and preventing painful joint contractures.

The objective is not to build fitness, but to retain enough function to ease daily care tasks like rolling, positioning, and cleaning and toileting needs.

Always prioritize comfort over repetitions. If any movement causes pain, shortness of breath, or fatigue, stop immediately. Speak to your health care providers for advice.

Time it right: Work during times of day when the patient naturally has more energy or after pain medications have taken effect.

Keep it short: Aim for 5 to 10 repetitions per movement, but feel free to break them up across the day rather than doing them all at once

Lower Limbs – This boosts lower-limb circulation and can help to reduces swelling.

Source: Sandiwell and West Birmingham hospital NHS Trust patient information leaflet.

Other exercises you can try ….

Upper body – Helps to maintain functions like sitting forward and daily activities such as eating and drinking, washing and dressing and moving in the bed.

Fist Clenches & Finger Stretches: Make a tight fist, then spread the fingers wide. This helps preserve the dexterity needed to hold a cup or use a call bell

Deep Belly Breathing: Place a hand on the abdomen. Breathe in deeply through the nose, making the belly rise, and exhale slowly through pursed lips.  Spending long times in bed can increase the risk of fluid build-up in the lungs, deep breathing can help. Simple breathing practices like this can also help with anxiety.

More challenging ……

Bed Mobility Rolling: If tolerable, bend one knee and reach across your body to roll onto your side. This keeps core muscles engaged and helps relieve skin pressure. A relative or a member of staff may need to help you with this advanced task.