Patients in intensive care units can recover more quickly if they take part in mild exercise, perhaps in ladies fitness wear, a new study has suggested.

A new report from critical care experts at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the US has revealed that reducing the use of prescription sedatives by 50 per cent allows mild exercise programmes to be introduced to the care of critically ill patients.

Mild exercise, which could be done in comfortable gym wear, decreases muscle weakness that is linked to long periods of bed rest.

Intensive care unit recovery times can be sped up by as much as two or three days by reducing the sedatives and introducing exercise, the paper concludes.

"Our work challenges physicians to rethink how they treat critically ill patients and shows the downstream benefits of early mobilisation exercises," said critical care specialist Dr Dale Needham, who spearheaded the project.

Last month, Shannon Paige Schneider, who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 21, told the Daily Camera that a particular form of exercise - yoga - helped her to recover from the illness and overcome the depression that came with it.

Posted by Sue Wallis ADNFCR-2569-ID-19717398-ADNFCR

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