HEALTH
Can you get down onto the floor and up again by yourself without assistance? A simple question for maybe a not so simple task. If you answered “NO” you may be at a higher risk for falls or even death. A Brazilian study revealed that those who needed assistance (including using your own hands for support) with getting down and back up from the floor were almost seven times more likely to die within six years than those who could perform this task independently.
Try it yourself. The test is called “The Sitting Rising Test”
• Start from standing
• Sit all the way to the floor and rise back up to standing
• Use the least amount of support possible to stay stable and safe
• If you can sit down and stand up without using your arms, knees, or furniture, you score a perfect 10
• Each time you stabilize yourself using another body part (hands, knees) take off 1 point
• If you scored between 8 and 10 points, this indicates good overall strength and stability.
• A score less than 8 may indicate that you are at a higher risk for falls.
Here are some functional exercises that when performed consistently may make getting up off the floor easier. Start with one set of 10 repetitions and work up to 3 sets of 10 repetitions. Perform these 3 times a week.
Bridges:
Push-ups from knees:
Chair squats:
And most importantly, start to practice getting down onto the floor and up again using support and assistance until you are able to perform this maneuver independently and without support.
If you have more questions and are interested in what else you can do to reduce your risk of falling, contact a physical therapist. We would be happy to help you improve in this area.
Barbosa Barreto de Brito et al 2012, Ability to sit and rise from the floor as a predictor of all-cause mortality, European Journal of Preventative Cardiology, vol. 21, no 7, pp. 892-898.
