How to Exercise In Bed With Lower Extremity Injury
Performing any fitness activity when restricted to bed with a leg or foot injury is beneficial, as long as your physician approves. If you're ill, physical exertion may be medically forbidden, but in the case of limb injury, bed-rest need not always mean complete cessation of movement. In fact, exercising in bed improves blood circulation and nutrient delivery to the injured site, and can help you maintain a positive mental outlook while healing. For athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike, maintaining an exercise routine can make your down-time a little more tolerable.
Instructions
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Contract your gluteal muscles. Isometric muscle exercises require contraction, and no movement. There is no muscle-lengthening. You can isometrically exercise any muscle that can be contracted or clenched. Your gluteal, or seat, muscles are the largest muscles in your entire body, and exercising large muscles burns more overall calories than small muscles. So formulate a glute-workout: squeeze your glutes together, hold the contraction for 3 to 5 seconds, and relax. Do this 10 to 12 times, to create a set. Work up to three sets, with a one-minute rest in between. Aim for three or four sets daily.
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Perform bridge hip-raises. If only one of your legs is injured, use the other to perform a bridge hip-raise. Not only does this maintain strength in your uninjured leg, but when you exercise a healthy limb, its injured partner doesn't lose its function quite so fast; the brain can still send nerve impulses to the injured muscles, and this helps decelerate muscle atrophy. To perform a bridge hip-raise, draw your healthy knee upwards, plant your foot flat on the bed's surface, and press downwards through your heel while you lift your hips. Difficult even with two healthy legs, hip-raises need not be very high to be effective; start with just five to six repetitions, 2 to 3 inches high, and work up to three sets.
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Do sit ups. Sit ups are classic isometric exercises. You can perform sit ups with straight legs or bent legs; the key is slow, controlled movements. Remember that your shoulders and arms should remain uninvolved; abdominal muscles are your focus, and the slower you go, the more your abs are taxed. If you can only manage stomach contractions, that's fine; do six to eight of them. If you are adept at sit ups, perform three sets of six to eight reps, starting from a straight position. Turning your torso at the beginning of a sit up activates the lateral, or side-most, abdominals. You can alternate frontal and lateral sit ups for variety and overall abdominal targeting.
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Lift arm weights. Lying on your back in bed is like assuming the bench-press position, so do some arm weights while your legs rest. Have a friend bring you some barbells, soft weights or bottles filled with water. Hold the weights firmly, and start with them positioned by your shoulders. Take a full three to five seconds to press upwards over three seconds, and lower the weights over the next three to five seconds, staying slow and controlled. You can start with eight to 10 repetitions, rest, and repeat twice. These bench-press exercises primarily work your shoulder muscles and triceps, and secondarily, your biceps and forearms.
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Tips & Warnings
Alert your physician to your fitness plans, and be careful when initiating bed exercises, even if you're a seasoned athlete. The context is very different from a gym or the outdoors; your bed may be much more soft -- and far less stable -- than your usual workout surface.
Always secure your physician's approval prior to exercising -- especially prior to exercising in bed with a pre-existing injury. Remain aware that any physical activity comes with some risk of injury, even though you may not be exercising at normal intensity or duration. Be sure you're within reach of a phone or bell to signal for help, if necessary.
References
- Body Results: Active Recovery From Strenuous Exercise
- Fitness Training At Home: The Secret To Sexy Legs -- Hamstring Exercises At Home
- Sports Injury Bulletin: Gluteal Muscle Exercises: Why 'The Bridge' Is A Valuable Workout For The Gluteal Muscles
- Net Fit: Basic Sit Ups
- Critical Bench: How To Bench Press Correctly
Resources
- Photo Credit ANKLE FRACTURE image by Dr Cano from Fotolia.com
