What it means
Lack of movement from illness, injury, surgery, sedation, weakness or restraints. It affects almost every body system: skin breaks down, blood clots form in the legs, lungs do not expand well, the bowel slows, muscles waste, joints stiffen, bones lose calcium, and mood suffers.
For the nurse
Reposition clients who cannot move at least every 2 hours, do range-of-motion exercises, encourage deep breathing, and get clients up and walking as early as it is safe.
At a glance
| Spanish | inmovilidad |
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Related terms
deep vein thrombosis
A blood clot in a deep vein, most often in the leg or pelvis.
range of motion
How far a joint can move in each of its normal directions, and the exercises that move joints through it.
ambulate
To walk, or to help a client walk.
skin breakdown
Damage that opens or wears away the skin, such as a pressure injury, skin tear or damage from moisture.
thromboembolism
A blockage of a blood vessel by a blood clot that formed in one place and traveled through the blood to another.