A fair amount of media and medical attention is paid to preventing falls among older adults — but there are times when people fall, despite taking the recommended precautions. Every year, more than 25 percent of adults age 65 and older fall, and falling once doubles a person’s chances of falling again, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Making matters worse, sometimes older adults have trouble getting up without assistance. This is partly because people don’t learn this skill, and partly because people become more stiff and less agile as they get older.
But there are effective ways to get up from a fall. “It’s a good idea to practice getting up, almost like a fire drill,” says Brianne Carroll, a physical therapist at the NYU Langone Orthopedic Center in New York, New York. That way, you’ll know what to do in the event that you fall. Plus, “being able to get up from the floor [without assistance] is a positive health behavior, just the same way that exercising is,” Carroll says.
To view step-by-step instructions for effective ways to get back up, from AARP, CLICK HERE.
