Physical activity interventions to improve physical function in temporarily non-ambulant older persons: a scoping review

Introduction: Older persons who are temporarily non-ambulant are often confronted with the adverse health effects of physical inactivity. These adverse health effects include sarcopenia, reduced strength, reduced health-related quality of life and increased mortality. To counteract those negative effects of immobility, it is important to know how older persons can stay physically active when they are temporarily unable to ambulate. Therefore, the aim of this scoping review was to provide an overview of physical activity interventions that can be performed by older persons who are temporarily non-ambulant. Method: A literature search was performed through PubMed, EMCARE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, PEDro, Academic search premier and Epistemonikos in August 2023 and updated in October 2024 and December 2025. Included were full-text, English-language articles, describing physical activity interventions for older persons who were temporarily non-ambulant. Results: Ten studies met the inclusion criteria. The physical activity interventions described in the studies were wheelchair mobilization, lower extremity strength training, (seated) physical activity programmes and neuromuscular electric stimulation. The effects of these interventions on physical fitness include; the ability to ambulate and walk, increase in muscle mass and power, slower decline in physical activity and a decrease in fear of falling. Conclusion and implications: Studies regarding physical activity interventions that can be performed by older persons who are temporarily non-ambulant are scarce, even though being temporarily non-ambulant is common among older persons. This review highlights the need for future studies on how we can help temporarily non-ambulant older persons to remain physically active. We recommend to conduct future studies for the development of a hospital and in-patient geriatric rehabilitation guideline for those older persons.