How to get off the floor and out of the Bath safely

by Kerry
(Brisbane, Australia)

Can you teach me a safe way of getting up and down from the floor and
in and out of the bath?

Comments for How to get off the floor and out of the Bath safely

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Sep 07, 2011 Getting off the floor
by: Douglas Schrift PT Thanks for bringing that up. Getting up off the floor is a very good thing to know when you are a senior.

As hard as we try, sometimes we end up on the floor. Either the cat got in the way, a shoe was left in the wrong place or we underestimated the height of that garden hose.

In any event, we find ourselves on the ground. The first thing to do is call out for someone to help. If no one is around, see if you are close to a chair or table to crawl to.

Step one: Pick a side to roll over on. Let’s say you will roll to the left. Raise your left arm over head, bend your right knee and roll to the left over onto your belly.

Step two: Then bring your good knee up under your hips and push yourself up onto your knee. After that, bring your other knee up until you are on all fours.

Step three: Crawl over to the chair and place your hands on the seat. Again bring your good knee up and put your foot flat on the ground so that you are kneeling on one knee. Raise yourself up and sit on the chair and relax.

Getting in and out of the bath can also be tricky if you are weak and have poor balance. I always recommend installing hand bars on the walls to hold onto and have a shower chair to sit on so that you don’t have to sit down into the bath.