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Immobility and Pharmacotherapy

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Abstract

Immobility is a frequent and significant geriatric syndrome. It is associated with an-often severe loss of independence and self-management capacity. Furthermore, immobility leads to changes in physiology that are irreversible or at least difficult to revert. Long-standing or chronic immobility in this context should be distinguished from acute immobilization, with the latter showing a wide overlap with what is termed deconditioning in the geriatric field (Killewich 2006). The underlying pathophysiological mechanisms are not completely identical but show common features. The most significant of these are functional and structural changes in skeletal muscles, especially of leg extensors and trunk muscles, which are most important to maintain independent locomotion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IVth Department of Medicine, Geriatrics, University Medical Centre Mannheim, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, Mannheim, 68167, Germany

    Heinrich Burkhardt

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  1. Heinrich Burkhardt
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Correspondence to Heinrich Burkhardt .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst. Klinische Pharmakologie, Klinikum Stadt Mannheim gGmbH, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, Mannheim, 68167, Germany

    Martin Wehling

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Burkhardt, H. (2013). Immobility and Pharmacotherapy. In: Wehling, M. (eds) Drug Therapy for the Elderly. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-0912-0_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-0912-0_23

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Vienna

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-7091-0911-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-7091-0912-0

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