Moving and activities

After having any illness you will likely feel achy or tired and will tend to rest or stay in bed more. Unfortunately when you spend a lot of time resting in bed, muscle loss and deconditioning can occur and that is why it is important to try and rebuild those muscles as soon as possible. You may feel more tired than usual and may have some breathlessness, so it is best to pace yourself and try to do a little each day.

Benefits of activity

Decreases stress and anxiety
Makes you feel good
Improves co-ordination and balance
Improves posture and appearance
Improves strength
Helps to maintain independence
Helps prevent osteoporosis
Improves sleeping pattern
Alleviates symptoms of breathlessness

What can you do to help yourself?

As you begin to recover, regular movement is key, little and often is best. Reintroducing normal daily activities will help you regain strength and function. As you start to feel stronger a short walk outside may help to build up your muscles and lift your mood, you can increase how far you walk gradually as you start to feel stronger. Choosing an exercise you enjoy is important.

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) has put together a list of resources, which may help you to become as active as possible and do this safely in your home. These resources are online. If you do not have access to the Internet, we hope you can ask a family member, neighbour or volunteer support group to print some of these resources for you. Click here to see the resources (opens in new tab).

Remember, it is important to stay safe while doing any activity:

Ensure you have appropriate footwear (eg shoes with backs instead of slippers)
Stay hydrated. You can lose around one and a half litres of fluid for every hour of exercise; so drink water before, during and after a session.
Ensure trip hazards such as pets, slippery floors, carpets, leads or are away
Ensure you are not feeling dizzy or light headed before