{"id":7338,"date":"2026-09-06T23:22:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T23:22:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visiting-angels.co.uk\/cheshire-east\/?p=7338"},"modified":"2026-09-07T09:17:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T09:17:37","slug":"how-to-get-up-after-a-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visiting-angels.co.uk\/cheshire-east\/how-to-get-up-after-a-fall\/","title":{"rendered":"How to get up after a fall"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Quick summary<\/b><\/h1>\n

If you have fallen and nothing hurts badly, there is a safe way to get yourself up. You will need a sturdy chair and about five minutes. Roll onto your side, push onto your hands and knees, crawl to the chair, put your strongest foot flat on the floor and push up slowly. <\/span>If anything hurts, stay put and call for help.<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/b><\/p>\n

Should I try to get up at all?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Not straight away, and not if anything hurts.<\/span><\/p>\n

The NHS advice is to stay calm and take a couple of minutes to check for pain or injury before deciding (<\/span>NHS, Falls<\/span><\/a>). Getting up quickly is the instinct, and it is the wrong one, partly because of injury and partly because the shock of a fall makes people unsteady for a few minutes afterwards.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do not attempt it if you hit your head, if there is pain in your hip, back or neck, if a leg will not take your weight, or if you feel faint.<\/b> In those situations the NHS says to call 999.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

How do I get myself up off the floor?<\/b><\/h3>\n

The method below is the one the NHS sets out. Work through it slowly and rest between the steps.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Roll onto your side.<\/b> Take your time with this. <\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Push onto your hands and knees.<\/b> Use your arms to lift your upper body.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Find something stable.<\/b> A heavy chair, a solid sofa, the side of the bath, a sink. Crawl to it if it is out of reach.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Choose the right furniture.<\/b> Nothing on castors, nothing that will tip, nothing with wheels. A dining chair against a wall beats an armchair in the middle of a room.<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Bring one foot flat onto the floor.<\/b> Use your stronger leg, foot flat and forward, both hands on the seat.<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Push up slowly<\/b> using your arms and your front leg together, turn, and sit down.<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Sit and rest.<\/b> Give it several minutes before you try to stand and walk.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    That last step is the one people skip and the one that causes second falls. Standing straight up after a few minutes on a cold floor is exactly when blood pressure drops.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/span><\/p>\n

    What if I cannot get up?<\/b><\/h3>\n

    Then the job changes. It stops being about standing and becomes about being found quickly and staying warm until you are.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The NHS advice is to use a phone or personal alarm if you can reach one, and if you cannot, to attract attention by shouting or banging on a wall or the floor. Cover yourself with anything within reach, keep moving your arms and legs, and <\/span>change position roughly every 30 minutes<\/b> to protect your skin.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Do not exhaust yourself with repeated attempts to stand. Save the energy for staying warm and making noise.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    \n

    If you can get up<\/b><\/p>\n<\/th>\n

    		\n

    If you cannot get up<\/b><\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n

    \n

    Check for pain first, then move<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

    		\n

    Reach a phone or alarm if one is within arm’s length<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

    \n

    Roll, crawl, kneel, push up on a stable object<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

    		\n

    Shout, or bang on the wall or floor<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

    \n

    Sit and rest before standing<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

    		\n

    Pull a coat, rug or towel over you to keep warm<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

    \n

    Tell someone it happened, even if you are fine<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

    		\n

    Change position every half hour, and keep moving your limbs<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

    \n

    Ring the GP within a few days<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

    		\n

    Ring 999 if you have injured your head, back, neck or hip<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    What is a long lie, and why does an hour matter?<\/b><\/h3>\n

    A long lie means an hour or more on the floor after a fall.<\/b> It is treated as a separate problem from the fall itself, because time on the floor causes its own harm.<\/span><\/p>\n

    A Cambridge study followed people aged over 90 for a year and recorded 265 falls. Eighty two per cent happened when the person was alone. Of those who fell, four in five could not get up after at least one fall, and 30 per cent had lain on the floor for an hour or more. Time on the floor was strongly associated with serious injury, admission to hospital and later moves into long term care (<\/span>Fleming and Brayne, BMJ, 2008<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

    The same study looked at call alarms and found that people who had one frequently did not use it to summon help, even while lying on the floor unable to get up.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/span><\/p>\n

    How do I help someone else up?<\/b><\/h3>\n

    Guide, do not lift.<\/b><\/p>\n

    Check for pain and for a head injury first. If they say they are fine and want to try, bring a sturdy chair to them and talk them through the same sequence while you steady the chair. Your hands are there for reassurance and to stop the furniture moving, not to take their weight.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Never pull someone up by the arms or from under the armpits. It is how carers hurt their backs and how older shoulders get damaged. If they cannot do it with encouragement and a chair, they need help you cannot safely give.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The NHS puts it simply: help them up carefully if they can, but do not try to lift them yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/span><\/p>\n

    Should I practise this before it happens?<\/b><\/h3>\n

    Yes. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Getting up from the floor is a physical skill. It needs arm strength, the ability to kneel, and the confidence to try. All three fade quietly, and the first time most people discover they have gone is at two in the morning on a bathroom floor.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Ask a physiotherapist to run through it with you.<\/b> It is a standard part of falls rehabilitation, and some local classes include floor work for exactly this reason. The postural stability classes run through Age UK Derby and Derbyshire for Buxton and Whaley Bridge residents include getting back to your feet after a fall as part of the programme (<\/span>Live Stronger for Longer<\/span><\/a>, 01773 766922).<\/span><\/p>\n

    In Cheshire East, the free <\/span>Stand Strong<\/b> programme runs for 26 weeks through One You Cheshire East on 0300 123 5026. Ask whether floor work is included when you sign up.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/span><\/p>\n

    Frequently asked questions<\/b><\/h3>\n

    How long is too long to be on the floor?<\/b><\/p>\n

    An hour is the threshold used in the research, and beyond it the risks of dehydration, pressure damage, muscle breakdown and hypothermia rise. In practice, get help as fast as you can rather than watching a clock.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Should I go to hospital if I got myself up and feel fine?<\/b><\/p>\n

    Not necessarily. Ring 111 if you are in pain, felt dizzy or sick, hit your head, or take a medicine that thins your blood. Either way, tell your GP within a few days, because a fall in the past year is what triggers a proper falls assessment under NICE guidance.<\/span><\/p>\n

    What should I do if I am alone a lot?<\/b><\/p>\n

    Carry the phone rather than leaving it charging in another room, and if you have a personal alarm, wear it and be willing to press it. A daily check-in from someone, at a set time, is the low technology version and it works.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Is there a right way to fall?<\/b><\/p>\n

    There is no reliable technique to teach for an unexpected fall in your own home. What can be trained is what happens next, which is the getting up. That is why physiotherapists teach it.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/span><\/p>\n

    About Visiting Angels Cheshire East<\/b><\/h3>\n

    Visiting Angels Cheshire East provides care at home across Macclesfield, Wilmslow, Knutsford, Congleton and the surrounding villages, along with Buxton, Whaley Bridge, Chapel-en-le-Frith and the Staffordshire Moorlands towns.<\/span><\/p>\n