What It Really Means When You Have Trouble Getting Up From The Floor

It's easy to sit down on the floor to pet your dog or play with your kids. Getting back up should be relatively easy too, but some people struggle with this movement. Being able to get up from the floor is a good indicator of your overall health, so if you are having trouble with this, you may want to take a look at your fitness level. This issue becomes increasingly common as you age.

"Moving, for the average person, especially those who are older, and the ability to rise from the floor is very much relevant for autonomy," Claudio Gil Soares de Araújo, a professor at Gama Filho University in Rio de Janeiro, told Today. "Imagine if your glasses went below the bed. You would need to sit on the floor to reach then and then you would need to rise."

In a long-term study worked on by Araújo, volunteers aged 51 to 80 who had a hard time getting up from the floor were more likely to die earlier than those who were able to get up with little to no assistance. This suggests that this movement can tell you a lot about your mobility, flexibility, and strength. All of those components affect your overall health.

If you do struggle to get up from the floor, don't panic. Improving your strength and flexibility can make it doable. According to Livestrong, a "consistent resistance-training routine" can help you become strong enough to successfully lift yourself from the floor without assistance. Try incorporating lunges, squats, and glute bridges into your exercise routine for improved lower body strength. Push-ups and planks will work your core and help you become stronger and more stable.

Sometimes body strength isn't the issue. If you feel stiff or tight when trying to get off the floor, you may have an issue with flexibility. You can become more flexible by incorporating a variety of stretches into your day. Hip flexor stretches, hip rotations, and quad stretches can improve your mobility and make it easier to get up and down.

If you can't get up from the floor and you are concerned about it, visit your doctor. After discussing your lifestyle, fitness habits, and health concerns, they can figure out the best way to improve your overall health.