Getting Up From the Floor After 60: A Safer Skill to Practice Before You Need It

Getting down to the floor can be part of ordinary life: reaching a low shelf, tending to a pet, or spending time with grandchildren. Getting back up may deserve a little more planning than it once did. The useful question is not whether you can do it without your hands. It is whether you have an approach that fits your body, your home, and the help available to you.

Before trying a floor transfer, consider making it a conversation with a physical therapist or another qualified health professional. A planned practice session and the moments after an unexpected fall are different situations. Preparing for one does not replace having a plan for the other.

Support belongs in the plan

A no-hands challenge can make using an armrest feel like losing points. At home, a score is not the goal. The goal is a practical way to manage a movement, including appropriate support or assistance when needed. You do not need to prove anything by copying a video or repeating someone else's method.

Bring specific questions to an assessment: Can I use my hands comfortably? Is kneeling appropriate for me? What support would be suitable in this room? Would assistance or a different goal make more sense? The answer may differ from the approach a friend uses, even if you are the same age.

The World Falls Guidelines discuss floor-rise training and breaking the task into components. That supports discussing the skill within an individualized plan; it does not make an online sequence appropriate for everyone.

What a recent study actually found

A 2026 pilot randomized trial studied older adults already attending community exercise classes. Sixty-one people were randomized and 49 were included in the follow-up analysis. The practice group received five weekly supervised sessions involving chair-supported floor-rise training. Compared with the video-demonstration group, participants improved measured floor-rise ability and time.

The study did not find a significant improvement in fear of falling. It also did not establish that this training prevented future falls, injuries, or prolonged time on the floor. Its small, selected sample and supervised setting matter. The practical takeaway is a reason to ask about learning the skill, not a promise of results or permission to practice alone.

Let your joints and medical history shape the discussion

If kneeling hurts, or your wrists or shoulders cannot comfortably bear weight, tell the professional assessing you before attempting a transfer. Discuss recent surgery, movement restrictions, dizziness, and other symptoms as well. A method that looks straightforward on a screen may ask your body to do something that is unsuitable today.

A small biomechanics study documented different floor-rise strategies. It does not identify one universally safest technique. Treat differences in movement as a reason for assessment, rather than a reason to force yourself into a particular shape.

Write down the part that concerns you most: lowering yourself, being on your knees, pushing through your arms, or returning to standing. That description gives the conversation a useful starting point. You do not need to perform the movement first to justify asking for help.

Plan the practice before attempting it

Ask whether floor practice is appropriate for you and what supervision, support, or alternatives you need. Bring up the actual setting: the chair you would use, the available space, and whether someone could assist safely. A professional can help determine whether the whole task, a component, or another preparation is the right starting point.

Useful questions include:

• What should we assess before I try this?
• Which positions or movements should I avoid with my current restrictions?
• What equipment or support would be appropriate for me?
• What should I do if a movement hurts or I become dizzy?
• What should a family member know, and what should they avoid doing?

A planned session is not a race. There is no need to set a speed target, repeat a social-media challenge, or turn a research result into a personal test.

After an actual fall, assess first

Do not treat a fall as an opportunity to rehearse. The National Institute on Aging advises pausing and checking for injury before deciding whether getting up is safe. If you are hurt or cannot get up, call for help or 911. Tell your clinician about the fall even if you do not notice pain immediately.

If a neck or spine injury is suspected, do not attempt to get up or have someone move you unless there is immediate danger or movement is necessary for lifesaving care. Call 911 and follow dispatcher instructions. MedlinePlus spinal-injury first aid explains why avoiding unnecessary movement matters.

If you fall and hit your head, seek medical attention right away, especially if you take a blood thinner. Call 911 for danger signs such as a worsening headache that does not go away, repeated vomiting, seizures, new weakness, or inability to wake. See the CDC's falls guidance and concussion danger signs. Do not change prescribed medication on your own.

Make help accessible, too

A help plan deserves its own conversation, whether or not you practice floor transfers. Think through how you would contact someone from the rooms you use. Is your phone usually with you or across the house? Who knows whom to contact? What arrangements would allow appropriate help to reach you?

Discuss these questions with your household or a trusted person. If you use an alert device, review how it works and its limitations. Do not assume that owning a device means every situation is covered. Planning how to request help is a separate task from learning a movement.

Start with one useful conversation

You can begin without getting on the floor. Note your questions, the supports in your home, and the movements that worry you. Bring that list to your next appointment, or ask about an at-home physical therapy assessment through Be On The Move.

The aim is a plan you understand: whether practice is suitable, what support belongs in it, and how to seek help when needed. That is a more useful starting point than a no-hands score.