Getting Up After a Fall (What to Check Before You Try to Stand) – Episode 105

Getting Up After a Fall (What to Check Before You Try to Stand) – Episode 105

Getting up after a fall with a knee replacement begins with deciding whether moving is safe. Pain, dizziness, confusion, or a possible injury may take a moment to register, especially when your first impulse is to stand quickly.

In Episode 105, Marilyn’s story shows how a short pause helped her notice wrist pain, dizziness, and uncertainty about whether her head had struck the wall. This article uses guidance from the National Institute on Aging and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to explain what to check, when to call for help, and how a floor-rise strategy practiced ahead of time may fit.

Your first job after a fall is to notice what happened and decide whether moving is safe.

Listen to Episode 105

What you will learn

  • What to notice before attempting to stand
  • Which symptoms call for emergency help
  • Why a possible head impact needs prompt medical attention
  • How a phone, voice assistant, alert device, or smartwatch may help
  • What the National Institute on Aging recommends for getting up safely
  • Why practicing your individual floor-rise strategy ahead of time can help

Pause before you try to move

The National Institute on Aging, or NIA, advises remaining still briefly, breathing, and deciding whether you are hurt before attempting to get up. That pause gives you time to notice your position, surroundings, and symptoms.

Think about whether you remember the fall, lost consciousness, or struck your head. Notice pain, bleeding, dizziness, weakness, and whether an arm or leg looks out of position. Emergency help is appropriate for severe pain, heavy bleeding, chest pain, shortness of breath, one-sided weakness, trouble speaking, seizure activity, or difficulty staying awake. Persistent dizziness, faintness, or severe pain when you try to move an arm or leg also calls for help.

Take a possible head impact seriously

The CDC advises an older adult who falls and hits their head to see a doctor right away. Head injuries can be especially serious for someone taking a blood thinner or antiplatelet medicine because bleeding may occur inside the skull even when the skin looks normal.

If you cannot remember whether your head struck the floor, wall, or furniture, share that uncertainty with the emergency dispatcher or medical professional. Describe what you feel and provide the names of the medications you take. Follow the instructions you receive from the dispatcher or healthcare professional.

Make help reachable before you need it

A charged phone in your pocket, a medical alert button, a voice assistant, or a smartwatch can give you a way to contact someone without standing. A phone charging across the room may be out of reach when you are on the floor.

Common options include Siri on an iPhone, an emergency contact set up through Alexa, and smartwatch emergency features. By default, Alexa does not call 911, although it can call a contact you have set up. Some Apple Watches offer Fall Detection, which may contact emergency services after detecting a hard fall when the wearer remains unresponsive. Device, connection, setting, and service requirements vary.

Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - ...
Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - ...

Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant

Check current price
View on Amazon
Affiliate link

Test your setup ahead of time from the rooms you use most. You may discover that one doorway, bathroom, basement, or laundry area has poor coverage or that your usual phone location leaves it out of reach.

Know the emergency number where you live or travel

Emergency numbers and service coverage can vary outside these areas and in some remote locations. Save the correct number for your location before traveling.

When getting up may be reasonable

Getting up may be reasonable when you remember the fall, your head stayed away from the floor and nearby objects, you can move comfortably, your awareness feels steady, and you have none of the urgent symptoms described above. The movement also needs to fit your abilities and the guidance you have received from your healthcare team.

The NIA describes a general sequence that includes rolling onto your side, pausing while your body adjusts, moving toward hands and knees, crawling to a sturdy chair, bringing one foot forward, rising slowly, and turning to sit. This is an overview of published guidance rather than an individualized instruction.

A chair used for support needs to remain stable when you lean on it. Rolling desk chairs, lightweight folding chairs, open cabinet doors, towel bars, and furniture that slides can create another fall.

Adapt the strategy to your knee replacement

After knee replacement, the NIA sequence may depend on your comfort with kneeling, knee bend, arm strength, balance, other joints, skin sensitivity, and any injury caused by the fall. The safest version for you may differ from the published sequence.

A physical therapist or another qualified professional can help you explore the movement before you need it. You can determine which leg works best in front, whether padding makes kneeling more comfortable, how much your arms can assist, and which chair in your home stays secure.

The strategy can also be learned in smaller pieces. Backward chaining begins near the end of the movement beside the chair and gradually adds the earlier parts. Research suggests that this approach may help some older adults improve their ability to rise from the floor.

Recheck your symptoms after you are seated

Once you are seated, take another moment before walking away. Dizziness, pain, swelling, or trouble putting weight on your leg may become easier to notice. Contact your orthopedic or medical team after a direct landing on your operated knee or when you develop new pain, swelling, limping, or loss of function. Tell them how you landed, whether your head was involved, and what changed afterward.

Report repeated falls and near falls

Tell your medical team if you have fallen more than once, caught yourself before falling several times, or notice the same situation repeating. Those details can help them decide whether to examine your balance, walking, medications, vision, blood pressure, footwear, or home setup more closely.

This follows the CDC’s STEADI approach, which organizes fall prevention around screening, assessment, and intervention. Episode 106 will examine why balance can still feel altered after knee replacement, and Episode 107 will build the larger fall-prevention plan.

Prepare before a fall changes the plan

A reliable way to call for help and a floor-rise strategy that you have practiced can give you more options. The right response still depends on what happened, what you feel, and whether moving is safe.

If walking quality is also part of your goals, visit Walking Like Yourself Again After Knee Replacement for more education about the factors that influence walking after surgery.

Walking Like Yourself Again After Knee Replacement
Walking Like Yourself Again After Knee Replacement

Why Walking Feels Awkward and How People Rebuild Smooth, Confident Walking for Everyday Life (The Total Knee Success Series Book 2)

Check current price
View on Amazon
Affiliate link

For new episodes and knee-replacement resources, join the free Total Knee Success Insider newsletter.

References

  1. National Institute on Aging. Falls and Fractures in Older Adults: Causes and Prevention. National Institutes of Health.
  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Facts About Falls. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
  3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Facts About Traumatic Brain Injury. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
  4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About STEADI. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
  5. Montero-Odasso M, van der Velde N, Martin FC, et al. World guidelines for falls prevention and management for older adults: a global initiative. Age Ageing. 2022;51(9):afac205. doi:10.1093/ageing/afac205.
  6. Chan ACM, Pang MYC. Falls after total knee arthroplasty: frequency, circumstances, and associated factors. Phys Ther. 2018;98(9):767-778. doi:10.1093/ptj/pzy071.
  7. Kubitza J, Wolff J, Mühlberg W, et al. Therapy options for those affected by a long lie after a fall: a scoping review. BMC Geriatr. 2022;22:582. doi:10.1186/s12877-022-03272-y.
  8. Leonhardt R, Becker C, Groß M, Mikolaizak AS. Impact of the backward chaining method on physical and psychological outcome measures in older adults at risk of falling: a systematic review. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2020;32(6):985-997. doi:10.1007/s40520-019-01459-1.

Medical disclaimer: This article is for general educational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, or individualized treatment. Call emergency services for serious symptoms, a suspected major injury, or any situation in which moving may be unsafe. Consult your orthopedic surgeon, physical therapist, or another qualified healthcare professional about falls, floor-rise practice, and your individual needs.

Tags: , , , , , , ,