Patients who are ill or injured are frequently placed on bed rest or have their activities limited. Problems commonly associated with immobility include weakened muscles, joint contracture, and deformity.
At times a patient’s mobility is restricted because of pain, paralysis, loss of muscle strength, systemic disease, an immobilizing device such as cast or brace, or prescribed limits to promote healing. If I were a patient in a hospital and was positioned on the left side for 2 hours, I would feel very tired and wasted.
Although I am not doing anything, I will still feel tired because of my position. Of course, I need to move the other parts of my body normally. I want to stretch but I cannot for something might happened to me that might worsen my condition. Imagine for 2 hours, I will be on my left side. That sounds easy but when done, remorse and murmurs are all you can hear. It can aso make me feel irritable, uneasy and restless. The position just do not make me feel calm and relax at all.
Although, as a patient I have no choice but to cooperate with my health care providers for they know much better than me. I know proper measures are being done also to protect my part as their patient. For instance, the nurse checks for orthostatic hypotension, pallor, diaphoresis, nausea, tachycardia and fatigue. Healthcare providers also sees to it that I will not be able to have bed sores and keep my skin integrity intact.