Today, we're all aware of the numerous benefits physical exercise has for those looking to become healthier and live longer lives. However, for the elderly and/or disabled, traditional aerobic exercise can be painful, dangerous, or downright impossible. Although such people likely understand the tremendous value exercise has on their wellness, their decreased mobility can be a major barrier in their ability to safely engage in normal physical activity. 

Passive exercise

However, recent medical studies show that a new form of activity, known as passive exercise, can help almost anyone, regardless of age or mobility, in their goal to engage in regular physical activity. Passive exercise simply involves having one's body, typically the legs, gently moved from side-to-side by a medical professional to stimulate the body's muscles and circulatory systems. Patients are not required to move their limbs themselves; instead, it's done for them by a therapist, thus the term "passive" exercise.  

While this form of exercise has traditionally required a doctor or physical therapist to move the patient's legs, new technology has been developed that allows a person to engage in passive exercise on their own, without another person and even while at home. Specifically, passive exercise machines allow the patient to place their legs in a set of cushioned cuffs that are attached to small modular platform, and when the device is turned on, the cuffs automatically swing the legs from side-to-side, thereby providing the passive range of motion needed to stimulate the body.

A simple, safe device

While this may sound like it would take large complicated machine, passive exercise devices are relatively small—about the size and shape of the base of a vacuum cleaner. These machines fit nearly anywhere and can be used while the patient is lying on the floor, in a bed, and even if someone is confined to a wheelchair. The machine simply creates a gentle, swinging motion that moves the legs a few inches from right to left, and the device repeats this movement automatically over a set period of time.

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