PEDAL (Pedal Exercise During Admission to hospitaL) -feasibility study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The effect of chair based pedal exercises for older people admitted to an acute hospital on function and mobility compared to standard care: A feasibility study
IRAS ID
161995
Contact name
Opinder Sahota
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Nottingham Health Science Partners
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 5 days
Research summary
Almost two thirds of people admitted to acute hospital care are over the age of 65 and at any one time account for 70% of hospital bed days. Recent work carried out at our hospital (QMC, Nottingham) showed that older inpatients spend over 98% of their time in an inactive state, with only 23 minutes a day spent active, i.e. standing or walking. This level of inactivity was constant throughout their hospital stay. Physical inactivity in hospital leads to functional decline, increased mortality, increased risk of institutionalisation and higher rates of re-admission. Delivering exercises in hospital is hindered by the limited number of therapists (who usually deliver the exercise sessions); limited therapy time; older patients unable to recall exercises prescribed; fear of causing falls, lack of patient engagement and motivation. Chair based pedal exercises offer a simple method of improving physical activity, and there are currently no studies that we are aware of that have assessed the use of regular chair based pedal exercises in addition to standard care to improve muscle function. We propose a feasibility study to evaluate the effect of regular chair based pedal exercises (5 minutes, 3 times a day, for 7 days) on older people (≥65 years old) admitted to an acute medical ward on lower limb muscle strength, physical activity and mobility.
REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/WM/0149
Date of REC Opinion
29 Apr 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion