homeability.com

Tips, Tricks & Technology for Living at Home for a Lifetime

  • Welcome
  • About
  • Contact

  • Homepage
  • Newsletter
    • Sign up for Newsletter
  • Stay Home?
    • Invest In Your Independence
    • Aging-in-Place Solutions
    • Your Own Home vs. Assisted Living Facility: Stay or Move?
    • Your Own Home vs. Assisted Living Facility: Cost Comparison
    • Assisted Living: 25 Questions to Ask Before You Move
  • Buying Guides
    • Bath Lift Guide: The Basics
    • Falls – Equipment to Help You Get Up Again
    • Accessible Bathtubs: An Amazing Diversity!
    • Slide-in Bathtubs: The Basics
    • Getting In & Out of the Bathtub: Benches, Lifts, and Transfer Chairs
  • Mobility
    • 12 Barriers to Living Independently – and 36 Ways to break them down!
    • Aging-in-Place Solutions (Overview)
    • “Clear Floor Space” Guidelines for Accessible Bathrooms
  • Bathroom
    • Bathroom Beginner’s Guide
    • “Clear Floor Space” Guidelines for Accessible Bathrooms
    • Specialized Bathtubs …
      • Overview of Accessible Bathtubs
      • Slide-in Bathtubs
      • Buying A Walk-In Bathtub – Your Biggest Mistake?
      • Walk-in Tubs: Scams & Shady Practices
      • What is a “Tub Cut”?
      • Walk-in Tubs: Hidden Costs
      • List of Walk-In Tubs Made in the USA
      • Walk-in Tubs: Our Advice to Prospective Buyers
    • Accessible Shower …
      • Handheld Showerhead Guide: The Basics
      • Curbless Showers
      • Prefab Accessible Shower
      • Curbless Shower: 8 Ways to Contain the Water Inside
      • Trench Drain for Accessible Showers: The Basics
      • Water Dam / Water Retainer for Accessible Showers: A Quick Overview
    • Toilet …
      • Accessible Toilets & Toilet Equipment: The Basics
      • Bidets: An Overview of the Basics
      • “I can’t wipe myself!”: 6 Solutions to Make Toilet Hygiene Easier
      • “I Can’t Get Up From the Toilet!” 10 Remedies
      • What’s the Best Toilet Height?
      • Best Type of Toilet for a Wheelchair User
      • Best Toilet Bowl Shape: Which is Right for You?
    • Tub Chairs, Benches, Lifts …
      • Tub Benches, Lifts, and Transfer Chairs
      • Bath Chair Lifts
      • Bathtub Bench Guide: The Basics
      • Sliding Swivel Bath Seat Guide: The Basics
      • Bath Bench for Clawfoot Tub: The Best Options
      • Bath Bench for Whirlpool & Jacuzzi Tubs: The Best Options
      • Bath Bench Leg Extensions
  • Falls
    • How to get up from the floor after a fall – MacGyver Style!
    • Afraid to Fall?
    • “I’ve Fallen!” Tips for Rescuing Yourself After a Fall
    • Fall Injury Statistics
    • Falls – Equipment to Help You Get Up Again
  • Safety
    • Home Safety Tips
    • Afraid to Fall?
    • “I’ve Fallen!” Tips for Rescuing Yourself After a Fall
  • Funding
    • The Truth About Home Modification Funding

How to get up from the floor after a fall – MacGyver Style!

2

Share Article:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Google+
  • Pinterest
  • Email

Help! I can’t get Up.

What if you find yourself on the floor — unable to get up?

This is a scary and dangerous predicament to find yourself in, especially if you live alone. Each passing hour spent on the floor, more and more problems begin to accrue caused by an inability to access water, food, and the toilet. The sooner you can find a way to get yourself up or get help — the better!

What to Do Next?!

The video featured above titled “How to get up from the floor – MacGyver style!” demonstrates 10 different fall recovery techniques in under 10 minutes.

It starts with instructions for how to perform the standard fall recovery technique, which is the option most people try first. This technique entails getting yourself up onto your hands and knees and crawling over to a stable surface that is then used for support to push yourself upright. If you are not able to perform the standard fall recovery technique, then it is going to be necessary for you to turn on your MacGyver-style thinking.

What is MacGyver-style thinking? MacGyver was a character in a 1980’s action adventure TV series. He was notorious for being able to use common everyday items in clever ways to get himself out of seemingly unsolvable situations. homeability_dreamstime_17In the video you’ll also see creative ways common household items can be turned into useful tools to assist you in getting up from the floor.

Oh No! I Wouldn’t Be Able To Do Anything Shown in the Video!

After watching the MacGyver Fall Recovery video, hopefully you will come away with a new mindset and great ideas for ways you can put your household items to use as self-rescue aids, but it is also possible you may have had the thought: “I wouldn’t be able to do any of those techniques!”

Each person’s reason for being unable to get up from the floor will be different. If you feel certain that given your own physical circumstances, you wouldn’t be able to perform the standard fall recovery technique or to use any of your household items as self-rescue aids, then investing in a medical alert system would be a good consideration. We all experience unexpected falls periodically, no matter how safe we try to be. When you do, if you cannot get yourself up, it would be useful to have a way to alert others you need help.

Tactics to keep yourself healthy while awaiting someone to come help, can be found in our article: “I’ve Fallen!” Tips for Rescuing Yourself After a Fall.

Turn Your MacGyver-Style Thinking On!

We hope the ideas shown in the video will inspire you to see the world around you with a new set of eyes and that you’ll be able to identify your own clever, MacGyver-style way to get yourself up if you ever do find yourself stuck on the floor, looking up at the ceiling, scratching your head and wondering — Uh Oh! Now what?!

The knowledge that household items have the potential to be turned into self-rescue aids should ideally be tucked away into your brain beside your knowledge of what to do if there is a fire, earthquake, or tornado. We all hope we NEVER have a reason to need any of this knowledge! But, it is useful to be prepared with a plan for what to do — just in case.


Safety Enhancing Products on Amazon.com

More Topics You May Be Interested In

  1. Falls: Equipment to Help You Get Up Again
  2. Getting In & Out of the Bathtub: Benches, Lifts, & Transfer Chairs
  3. 12 Barriers to Independent Living – and 36 Ways to Break Them Down!
  4. Home Safety Tips
  5. Walk In Tubs: Buyers Beware!
Advertisement
Share Article:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Google+
  • Pinterest
  • Email
homeability

— homeability

Team Homeability - Experts on Accessible Homes and Aging-in-Place

    Related Posts

  • dreamstime_s_2456673 Afraid to Fall?
  • walk-in bathtub homeability Buying A Walk-In Bathtub – Your Biggest Mistake?
  • dreamstime_s_12566818 Falls – Equipment to Help You Get Up Again
  • shower-stool-homeability-8 Shower Stool Guide: The Basics

2 Comments

  1. James Marotta says:
    Sep 2014 at 10:34 am

    How big is the Falls Epidemic / Issue?

    One out of three older adults (those aged 65 or older) falls each year but less than half talk to their healthcare providers about it.
    Among older adults, falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries.
    In 2012, 2.4 million nonfatal falls among older adults were treated in emergency departments and more than 722,000 of these patients were hospitalized.
    In 2012, the direct medical costs of falls, adjusted for inflation, were $30 billion.

    Regards

  2. Joanie says:
    Mar 2014 at 5:47 pm

    Rhonda-Thanks for the very helpful video on how to get up from a fall. Watching you go through each movement showed the 2 steps that I skipped when I tried several times to get up from the floor. I will remember them next time I fall and hopefully I’ll be able to get up by myself.

  • Recent by Date

    March 2023
    M T W T F S S
    « Mar    
     12345
    6789101112
    13141516171819
    20212223242526
    2728293031  
  • Advertisement

  • Highlights

    • Popular
    • Recent
    • Comments
    • Tags
    • walk-in bathtub homeability Buying A Walk-In Bathtub – Your Biggest Mistake? January 2014
    • Sliding bathtub transfer bench Getting In & Out of the Bathtub: Benches, Lifts, and Transfer Chairs December 2013
    • dreamstime_s_12566818 Falls – Equipment to Help You Get Up Again December 2013
    • Kohler Elevance (1) Accessible Bathtubs: An Amazing Diversity! November 2013
    • cover_fall_500x500 How to get up from the floor after a fall – MacGyver Style! February 2014
    • homeability_dreamstime_26 Aging in Place: How do I find a Contractor?
    • Bed_ Rails_Homeaiblity.com Bed Rails: Which Type is Best?
    • homeability_dreamstime Ramps: What to Consider When Selecting a Ramp for Your Home
    • sliding-swivel-bath-bench-homeability Sliding Swivel Bath Seats: Which Type is Right for You?
    • toilet-seat-homeability Toilet Seats: Best Options for Disabled Persons
    • Sheila says: We purchased a walk in tub in 2018. It cost us...
    • Dr HOWARD J KIRSCHNER says: I AM A 84 YEAR OLD PRACTICING DENTIST AND I HAVE...
    • Dorothy Lamb says: I live ina Mobile Home Park for Seniors.. I have neighbors...
    • Bill Alvarado says: I am 73 and i live alone in San Francisco in...
    • Sondra Maze Ladd says: Thank you so much for sharing this information! We have been...
    age-friendly home age at home aging-in-place barrier-free shower bath chair for disabled bath lift bathroom bath seat bath seat for disabled bath seat for elderly bath seat for handicap bath seat rotates bath seat slides bathtub bathtub chair bathtub for seniors bathtub lift curbless shower disabled elevated toilet seat fall injury fall prevention fall prevention tips fall recovery falls handicap handicap bathroom remodel handicap bathtub handicap shower homeability home ability lifts lighting live at home live at home forever make home safer for seniors Safety senior citizens seniors toilet pedestal toilet riser tub tub seat walk-in bathtub walk in tub
  • Advertisement

  • Advertised Product

    more popular products ...
  • Home
  • Newsletter
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • About

© 2013-2016 homeability.com