If you’re over 65, you run a 30 percent chance of falling each year. Once you reach 85, it increases to 40 percent, and 10 percent of those falls result in injuries. While falls are bad, getting back up from them can be next to impossible—I thus provide several exercises and tips that can come to your rescue if ever you find yourself on the floor.
5 Tips for Rising From a Fall
- Keep some form of communication available close to you. If you find yourself on the floor and ultimately can’t get up, it’s good to be able to call someone who can help.
- Scoot to a piece of furniture to help yourself get up. Standing up in the middle of a room without support is challenging for many of us.
- If you’re weak, try to move into a sitting position on a chair, couch, or loveseat to afford yourself the ability to rise from a supported surface instead of the ground.
- Exercise regularly to maintain your strength and endurance. It’s better to avoid a fall than to try to recover from one.
- Don’t take chances. If what you’re getting ready to do seems risky, rethink your plan and find a safer way.
5 Exercises to Prevent or Help You up After a Fall
Good strength and endurance are just the ticket for reducing your risk of falls. My patients tolerate these exercises well but check with your medical provider to make sure they are appropriate for you.1. Shin Box Get Ups
The shin box movement helps you position yourself to use your legs to stand up.Step 1: Sit on the floor with your feet spread approximately three feet apart, knees bent to approximately 90 degrees, and your hands clasped together in front of you.
Step 2: Keeping your hands together, roll to the right so that the outside of your leg makes contact with the floor. The inside of the left leg should also come into contact with the floor, with the left knee behind the right foot.
Step 3: Without using your hands, rise onto your knees briefly before moving back into the sitting position and repeating on the other side.
Step 4: Rising up and then sitting back down counts as 1 repetition. Try to perform 3 sets of 12 repetitions, performing all movements on one side and then the other, or alternating sides. Be sure to control movement speed and take your time to do it right. This exercise is harder than it looks, so don’t be surprised if you tire quickly.
Modification: Use your hands as needed to help with balance during this movement.
Why I like it: The shin box movements occur very naturally when people are trying to get up from the floor, so this is a “second nature” exercise that comes easily to most.
Ceridwen Hunter/The Epoch Times
2. Bear Crawls
Bear crawls help ensure your ability to move across the floor to get to chairs and couches you can use to get up.Step 1: Start on your hands and feet in a pushup position. Your arms should be straight down, and you should be resting on the balls of your feet.
Step 2: Begin walking across the floor on your hands and feet. Move your right hand and left foot first, then reciprocate with your left hand and right foot. Move slowly, taking up to two seconds for each step.
Step 3: Taking a step with one hand and one foot counts as 1 repetition. Try to perform 30 steps per set, and and 3 sets.
Modification: If moving across the floor on your hands and feet proves too challenging, move across the floor on your hands and knees instead. You will still develop the necessary ability to move across the floor if you need it.
Why I like it: Bear crawls serve a great double function. On one hand, they can help you with ground-level mobility. On the other hand, they can provide considerable leg and core strengthening, which can help reduce your chances of falling in the first place.
Ceridwen Hunter/The Epoch Times
3. Bodyweight Squat
This exercise can help increase strength and balance during the “power up” cycle of moving into standing from a squatting position or up from furniture. This is good because you don’t want to fall when you’re already trying to get up from a fall.Step 1: Stand with your feet roughly hip-width apart and rotated slightly out, with your arms straight out in front of you, with your elbows bent and palms clasped.
Step 2: Slowly lower into a squatting position until your knees are bent 90 degrees. Push your hips back to keep your knees from moving in front of your toes, which can stress your knees.
Step 3: Slowly move back to standing.
Step 4: Once you rise into the standing position again, repeat the movement. Each squat counts as 1 repetition. Perform 3 sets of 12 repetitions.
Modifications: Only go as far down as you can while still being able to rise back up, even if you can’t move far. Stand next to something you can hold onto if you struggle to maintain your balance.
Why I like it: This exercise is one of the most accessible movements in this routine. You can perform bodyweight squats anywhere you’re already standing. I also find that this particular exercise is one that people tend to keep up with more than other movements. If you’re only going to do a few exercises consistently, this is a great one to have in your repertoire.
Ceridwen Hunter/The Epoch Times
4. Forward Lunge
The forward lunge takes the gluteal and quadriceps work of the bodyweight squat and moves it to one side at a time, increasing the movement’s challenge and strengthening balance.Step 1: Start standing with your hands on your hips and your feet hip-width apart.
Step 2: Step forward approximately three feet with your right foot, moving toward the centerline of your body. Then, slowly bend your knee until it reaches 90 degrees, keeping your upper body upright. Note: The pictured model takes smaller steps due to space considerations, but the movements are the same.
Step 3: Push back up standing and return your foot to the starting position. Repeat the movement on your left side. Moving down and coming back up counts as 1 repetition. Try to perform 3 sets of 12 repetitions.
Modifications:
- If you can’t recover from a full lunge, just lower down as far as you can while still being able to rise back up. You will get stronger over time.
- If you struggle to maintain your balance during this exercise, stand next to something you can hold onto as needed to stabilize yourself.
- You can also take the smaller steps demonstrated by the model if this works better for you. You'll still get an excellent workout.
Ceridwen Hunter/The Epoch Times
5. Chair Dips
Chair dips work on your triceps, shoulders, and pectoral muscles to keep your feet from having to do all the work.Step 1: Sit at the front edge of a stable chair, with your palms on the front edge.
Step 2: Straighten your legs and slide down, supporting your weight on your hands. Hold your arms so your elbows bend to the rear, not the sides.
Step 3: Slowly lower down until you reach 90 degrees of elbow flexion, and then push back up.
Step 4: Moving down and up counts as 1 repetition. Perform 3 sets of 12 repetitions, modifying sets and counts as you see fit.
Modification: If you find it difficult to move down very far, just lower as far as you can and then come back up from there. You will get stronger over time.
Why I like it: This is a common movement for folks who want to get up from the floor onto furniture, especially when they don’t have the strength to use only one side of their body. Making the muscles that do the work stronger only makes sense.
Ceridwen Hunter/The Epoch Times
6. Bodyweight Knee Pushups
While chair dips are phenomenal for strengthening, they can be difficult for some people to perform, especially when just starting an exercise regimen. Knee pushups can serve as an initial strengthening avenue for some and an alternate for others.Practice Tip: Being on your hands and knees can be hard on the knees. You can use a thin cushion or mat to take the edge off.
Step 1: Begin on hands and knees and straighten your legs back into a classic push-up position, then drop your knees to the floor with your feet pointing upward.
Step 2: Keeping your elbows out to the sides, slowly lower yourself until your face nearly touches the floor.
Step 3: Moving toward the floor and back up counts as 1 repetition. Try to perform 3 sets of 15 repetitions.
Modification: If getting to your hands and knees is a challenge, or for an easier starter exercise, you can try wall pushups:
- Step 1: Stand approximately four feet from a wall (adjust for your height), and place your arms straight out in front of you, your elbows straight, and your hands flat on the wall.
- Step 2: Slowly lean into the wall while bending your elbows until your face is almost touching, then push back to the starting position.
- Step 3: Leaning into the wall and then back counts as 1 repetition. Try to perform 3 sets of 15 repetitions.
Why I like it: This exercise is scalable from easier to harder, and almost anybody can do one form or another.
Ceridwen Hunter/The Epoch Times
Falls can happen for a variety of reasons, and being able to get back up is vital—especially if you’re alone at the time. Performing these exercises at least three times per week, or as often as you can, will make getting back up easier and more successful.
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Epoch Health welcomes professional discussion and friendly debate. To submit an opinion piece, please follow these guidelines and submit through our form here.
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