Preventing hospital-acquired disability in older adults: exercise, technology, and biomarkers
On site
Online
Information
Event
Date
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Time
08:00 – 08:45
Duration
45 min
Credits
1 CME credit
Language
English
Objectives
To recognise the functional risks associated with hospitalisation in older adults
To understand mechanisms and alternatives for preventing and treating functional decline associated with hospitalization, including technological aspects.
Access
Provider
Klinik Barmelweid
On site
Online
As a webinar on geriatrics-update.com. You’ll receive the access link by email in advance or directly on this page.
Speaker
MD, PhD Nicolás Martínez-Velilla,
Chief of Department, Hospital Universitario de Navarra, Navarrabiomed, UPNA, IdISNA. Pamplona, Spain (ES)
Chief of the Department of Geriatric Medicine at the University Hospital of Navarra, Director of the Navarra Health Research Institute (IdISNA), Head of the Research Group on Geriatrics and Active Aging (INGEA) at Navarrabiomed, Member of the Board of EAMA, Editor of the Spanish Journal of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Professor of Geriatrics at the Public University of Navarra and at the University of Navarra, Spanish delegate to EUGMS.
Exercise prevents hospital-acquired disability
Individualized in-hospital exercise improves SPPB, Barthel Index, cognition, depression, quality of life, handgrip strength, mobility, frailty, and basic activities of daily living in very old, frail inpatients.
Generic mobilization alone is insufficient
Walking- or mobilization-focused programs do not improve activities of daily living. The speaker attributes this to lack of individualized, equity-based prescriptions; response varies, and non-responders often have advanced chronic disease.
Technology and biomarkers extend the approach
Virtual reality is feasible in most older inpatients, with few balance or dizziness problems reported. Current work also examines community implementation, nutrition, creatine, beetroot, epigenetics, proteins, and delirium-related biomarkers.
The continuing education session “Preventing hospital-acquired disability in older adults: exercise, technology, and biomarkers,” organized by Klinik Barmelweid and delivered by MD, PhD Nicolás Martínez-Velilla, presents the development of a clinical and research program focused on functional decline during hospitalization in older adults. Dr. Martínez-Velilla emphasizes that hospital-acquired disability remains highly prevalent, with prolonged bed rest, low mobility, and persistent impairment in activities of daily living after discharge despite longstanding awareness of these risks in geriatric medicine. He argues that generalized mobilization strategies are insufficient and proposes individualized, personalized exercise interventions, based on the distinction between equality and equity, as a more effective approach. He reports that his team’s randomized clinical trial in very old, frail hospitalized patients shows clinically relevant improvements in physical performance, Barthel Index, cognition, depression, quality of life, handgrip strength, disability trajectories, and frailty, although not in length of stay, falls, or mortality. The presentation also describes implementation strategies with limited resources, including repurposed ward space, environmental redesign to promote mobility, extension of exercise programs to oncology settings, and integration of hospital-to-community e-health support. In addition, Dr. Martínez-Velilla discusses the use of virtual reality and other technologies, noting good feasibility and patient acceptance, while also stressing the importance of the human component in care. Finally, he outlines ongoing research on biomarkers, inflammation, epigenetics, delirium, nutrition-exercise interactions, creatine, beetroot supplementation, sarcopenia, centenarians, and other clinical populations, with the overarching aim of understanding and optimizing exercise-related benefits beyond the hospital setting.
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