You wouldn’t skip your daily medication. Yet for millions of older adults, the single most effective treatment: regular movement – is still missing from the prescription.
Multimorbidity: The Silent Challenge in Elderly Care
More than half of adults over 65 in the UK live with two or more chronic health conditions, a state known as multimorbidity. Among those aged 75–84, the burden is heavier still: almost two-thirds live with a musculoskeletal condition that affects mobility, balance, or independence.
This gap: high disease burden but low physical activity, drives a costly cycle of falls, fractures, chronic pain, hospital admissions and loss of independence.
For care homes, this is more than a medical issue. It’s a question of sustainability: how do we protect quality of life for residents while keeping costs, staff workload, and hospital transfers under control?
Care Homes as Engines of Prevention
Every year, around 75,000 older adults in the UK are admitted to hospital with hip fractures, most caused by falls. These events are life changing. Many residents never regain their independence, and care costs rise sharply.
Projections suggest that hip fracture admissions will more than double by 2060. If care homes remain reactive, responding only once an incident occurs, the financial and human toll will become unsustainable.
Unlike drugs that treat one disease at a time, exercise works across body systems. It strengthens, protects, and restores in ways no single medication can:
- Muscles and bones: improved strength reduces falls and fractures
- Cardiovascular system: better circulation lowers heart disease and stroke risk
- Cognitive function: activity lowers dementia risk and keeps the brain engaged
- Mental health: movement reduces depression, anxiety, and social isolation
Exercise in older age doesn’t require gyms or intensive routines. In fact, the most effective programs are simple, scalable, and social:
By reframing exercise as an everyday part of care, homes can transform from places of passive treatment to hubs of active prevention. When movement becomes a daily norm, the benefits extend beyond residents:
- Staff face fewer emergency incidents, less manual handling strain, and higher morale.
- Operators see reduced hospital transfers, lower medication reliance, and measurable cost savings.
- Families gain reassurance that loved ones are not only cared for, but enabled to thrive.
In short, embedding consistent exercise into elderly care creates a cycle of wellbeing improving outcomes while reducing strain on both people and budgets!
DocHQ’s Care package makes this possible by combining physiotherapy expertise with digital innovation:
- Tailored programs for multimorbidity, arthritis, and musculoskeletal conditions
- AI-guided exercises with real-time feedback for residents
- Trackable data to personalise care and prove impact
- Evidence-based interventions shown to reduce falls and improve independence
This means prevention becomes not just possible but practical… delivering better outcomes without overloading staff.
Exercise is medicine. The time to prescribe it in care homes is now.
👉 DocHQ Prevent brings physiotherapy-led prevention and fitness programs directly into care homes. Ready to transform your approach to multimorbidity? Talk to us today.
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