Physical Therapy - teaching getting up from a fall

[Chall]

My Mom fell a few years ago, she was 88, and couldn’t get up off the floor.
She managed to scoot to the stairs and then used the stairs and banister to pull herself up (good girl).
I noticed another relative unable to get up from a sitting position on the beach.

With my Mom I spoke to a PT and asked if they taught seniors how to crawl and how to get up to a standing position.
She said “they used to, years ago”.

So my question is: do they teach these skills and if not, why not?
It seems like it would be one of the most useful skills of all, IMO.
Practicing using a chair to pull yourself up should be basic.

Horse related: when we started horse back riding lessons, my Dad took us out on the lawn and taught us how to drop a shoulder and roll to break fall. WE did it from a standing position.
I always wondered though if I would roll in the correct direction, away from the hoofs.
Oh and how to stop a real run away, circle your arms around horses neck and slide to his front :eek:
But his advice was based on his own experiences, so I respect that. He had a lot of interesting experiences.

[Where_sMyWhite]

FWIW, 5 years ago when I was a “guest” (as it were) at an in-patient rehab hospital, yes, they taught how to get up from a fall.

I’m trying to remember now if it was the PTs or the OTs that actually taught this skill… might have been the OTs.

[Magicboy]

There are even posters with the movements for getting up after a fall that most PT/OT folks offer you to keep in the home.

[Chall]

Thanks magicboy. I will keep on eyeout for them.
I ll look around for yoga personal trainers who specialize in this.
There is a yoga teacher who does “chair” yoga classes (yoga done in a chair, rather than on the floor).
Then I’ll see if she can do it.

[Critter]

I’m a PT and all I will say is yes, we definitely are still trained in teaching people to get up from the floor. It is taught in school and is really a foundational skill, even if you are focused in a niche practice. If your PT is not able to teach that skill…well, I suggest you might consult another PT. Perhaps looks for one with the GCS credentials…this means they have a certification in geriatrics. Though there are many, many skilled PTs without the certification that would be more than able to work on the skill with your mom. Remember…some PTs are A students and some are C students…there are good ones/bad ones out there (like riding instructors and horse vets!).

[Chall]

Ah GCS credentials! Thank you!

[RPM]

I live in a senior building and we have had sessions here on falling and I guess also on how to get up. I haven’t been to one, but I have seen the flyers posted.

50-odd years ago in riding lessons we were taught something called an emergency dismount that your dad’s exercise sounds like. Back in the days before the airfoil-type parachutes, I took a skydiving course that taught us how to land from a jump. It was a sort of touchdown-and-roll method – we didn’t land on our feet with military 'chutes the way skydivers did with the airfoil styles and still do.

[walkers60]

Ah as someone who has worked in P.T. clinics for 5+ years I cannot believe they did not work with her on balance and how to get up safely from a fall or rise from a chair. That is just standard of care ,it would be like seeing a dentist a never getting your teeth cleaned. Hence something wrong with this story. Many options, inexperienced P.T. or patient resistance to practicing or not communicating her needs .Many patients will get embarrassed and don’t want to appear old or needing help. Something fishy here Sherlock.
She should have been shown these techniques and given work sheets for practicing at home.However so very few people do the exercises but expect to be “fixed” in a few visits.
My 95 year old Mom goes 2X a week for balance work , practice on stairs, stepping up on curbs , rising from her chair.
so something is wrong with the story…or has medicine really become 3rd world? I’m afraid the answer is yes.