However, the practice of early mobilization is not yet widespread due to barriers in the clinical setting. Knowing about the barriers and identifying appropriate strategies to overcome them can help make the concept an integral part of daily routine.
With the newly launched awareness campaign "Early mobility matters", THERA-Trainer informs healthcare professionals worldwide about the benefits of early mobilization and presents solutions for implementation from the company's own product portfolio. Prolonged intensive care is associated with significant complications. For example, if patients are mobilized too late after a stroke, heart attack or severe infection, the risk of permanent loss of mobility increases.
"Prolonged immobility is harmful, as a decrease in muscle mass and bone mineral density as well as an impairment of essential body functions can already be observed within the first week in the intensive care unit," explains physiotherapist and clinical expert in early mobilization, Tobias Giebler, from the University Hospital Tübingen. "Patients decondition, which is associated with significant loss of function, reduced quality of life and increased mortality." Clinical research suggests that early mobilization reduces the development of weakness acquired through prolonged stay in the ICU. "Patients should be mobilized and taken out of bed as early as possible. This reduces risks and helps patients maintain and improve their physical condition," says Giebler.
Early mobilization can reduce the length of stay of patients in intensive care by an average of two days, saves resources and recovery is sped up – This is in line with the overarching goal of hospitals to provide patients with high-quality care despite limited resources. "The success of early mobilization is a demonstration of the commitment and competence of the interdisciplinary treatment team," confirms Giebler. "It needs problem awareness, but also appropriate solutions for implementation."
With the awareness campaign "Early mobility matters", THERA-Trainer informs about the benefits of early mobilization and presents solutions from the company's own technology portfolio. "Our recipe of success for early mobilization of severely affected patients in intensive care units, is the combination of safety, easy handling and variable use," explains THERA-Trainer CTO Otto Höbel. The product suitable for this purpose is the THERA-Trainer bemo. An in-bed cycling device specially designed for early mobilization. With bemo, patients in the intensive care unit can be mobilized while lying in bed, before they are able to get out of it. "The bed bike has been clinically proven to be associated with significantly reduced duration of mechanical ventilation, length of stay in the ICU and incidence of weakness."
REHACARE.com; Source: THERA-Trainer
