Staying active in hospital speeds recovery, improves outcomes

People with Parkinson’s disease who stay active while in the hospital may recover faster and live longer, according to a study.

The research, conducted by the Parkinson’s Foundation in partnership with University Hospitals, found that patients who moved at least three times a day — as the Parkinson’s Foundation recommends — had shorter hospital stays, were more likely to return home instead of being discharged to a care facility, and had a lower risk of death after leaving the hospital.

The study, “Impact of inpatient mobility on outcomes in Parkinson’s disease,” was published in Parkinsonism & Related Disorders.

“For people with Parkinson’s, staying mobile in the hospital can make an enormous difference when it comes to recovery and being more likely to go home instead of another care facility,” the Parkinson’s Foundation said in a news story. Moving during a hospital stay, with the help of a care team, can help reduce muscle loss, improve sleep, and enhance focus, the foundation said.

Parkinson’s disease is caused by the progressive loss of nerve cells that are responsible for making dopamine, called dopaminergic neurons. This lack of dopamine signaling ultimately leads to the disease’s symptoms.

Move to Heal program makes a difference

Physical exercise can ease Parkinson’s motor symptoms by helping patients maintain mobility, flexibility, and balance. Because people with Parkinson’s are hospitalized more often and are more vulnerable to complications during hospitalizations, maintaining regular movement may help reduce complications.

The study analyzed data from patients who were hospitalized for more than 24 hours between February and September 2023 across 10 hospitals in the University Hospitals Health System. The researchers looked at two groups of patients, each consisting of 153 Parkinson’s patients and 6,392 people without the disease to serve as controls. Half of each group entered the hospital system’s Move to Heal program, which gets patients to move at least three times per day, while the other half did not.

The Move to Heal program involves active or passive range-of-motion exercises performed in bed, sitting at the edge of the bed or on a chair, standing, and walking. Exercise is carried out with support from a care team.

The study found that Parkinson’s patients who moved at least three times daily had shorter hospital stays than those who did not (5.1 days vs. 5.9 days). Although the same effect was seen in control participants, it was more significant in those with Parkinson’s.

Patients in the mobility group were 2.6 times more likely to be discharged home than to a care facility than those in the non-mobility group. They also had a 50% lower chance of dying within a month after discharge and a 30% lower chance within 90 days.

However, staying active was not associated with the probability of hospital readmission within a month.

“Based on our findings, inpatient mobilization [at least three] times daily in [people with Parkinson’s] is advisable to reduce [length of stay], increase discharge to home, and therefore improve overall patient safety,” the researchers wrote.