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I am caregiving for myself. I need some kind of device for getting up from the ground outside. I fell one time outside on my pathway and my neighbor's were home to help me. Last night I was trying to hook up my hose to the faucet outside on my patio. To get at a good angle, I sat down on the step outside my patio door. Getting up was a little difficult but I finally figured it out. I've looked at all kinds of devices and they aren't quite right. A cane is too tall, even the ones that are in several parts and then connect to make the cane. The step devices aren't going to help either, as I don't have a whole lot of arm strength. I have not come to a place in my life where I need an alarm yet. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

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Agree with everyone here: strength training is key and yes, older adults of all ages can increase their muscle strength by doing resistance exercises. The older you get, the more important it is to intentionally do this type of exercise, because otherwise muscle strength does tend to decline with aging.

It does take physical strength to get back up from the ground. You can find resources online demonstrating the right technique, but basically you have to get yourself onto your hands and knees, and then you can use a stable piece of furniture to steady yourself as you put your stronger leg forward and get back up. This page from an Australian health department shows the process
stayonyourfeet.com.au/home/what-if-i-do-fall/get-up-off-the-floor/

How to teach older adults to get up has not been particularly clinically studied (to my knowledge), but exercises that strengthen your legs, core, and arms will help.

Especially if you have fallen, I recommend bringing this up with your doctor and asking about a referral to physical therapy, for gait, balance, and strength evaluation. Many older adults who have fallen have low leg strength, and also often poor balance.

A physical therapy program called Otago has been extensively clinically tested and was proven to reduce falls in older adults. The CDC was trying to promote it a few years ago. You may or may not be able to find it near you.

At a minimum, you can tell the physical therapist that you'd like to be strong enough to get up off the floor, and they can recommend suitable exercises.

I also agree with considering an emergency response pendant. Another option is to install a home sensor system that can alert someone if you aren't moving around as usual (this doesn't usually enable you to get help right away, but can help you avoid being down for days before you are found).

Good luck and take care.
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My honest feeling is that if you are asking for suggestions, you do need a fall alarm. Please consider getting one. The only physical advice is that you need try to get onto all fours and crawl to a piece of furniture. Leave a door open to your home when yo do go out so that you have access. Be sure to do an assessment for any injuries-but please get an alarm. You need it.
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Cak2135:

Good work. Yes, climbing three flights of stairs, daily, is excellent exercise because stair climbing requires lifting your own body weight.

Joining the Y is a great idea. You will meet like-minded people and stay stronger.

Working out is a life long endeavor. If a person stops working out they will start to lose muscle strength within a few weeks and then the muscle will slowly deteriorate.

Walking will help maintain muscle but it will likely not improve muscle strength. It is a good cardiovascular choice.

Lifting weights is far better for maintaining muscle and building strength. That is why stair climbing, in which you lift your entire body weight is a good choice.

For the elderly, using machines that keep the core stabilized, while using a specific muscle group to lift the machines weight, is a safer way to work out as the machines prevent back injury by keeping the core stabilized.
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I will be 65 years old in September, and I live in a third floor garden apartment. I take the steps one at a time, and I do not get winded. I guess going up and down the steps can be considered a workout, and the garbage dumpster is down at the far end of the complex so when it's time to take out the garbage, I put on my hiking shoes and hike down there. I am considering joining the Y on the Open Door policy
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If don't want an alert pendant then you should always put your phone in your pocket when you go out, even your cordless land line will usually work outside the house.
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I have a device that would be perfect. It is an Elk lift. It works perfect and I no longer need the one I have, since my patient can no longer walk. Please let me know if you are interested.
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To add to my earlier posting, i was a gym rat for about 20 years, had a personal trainer, the whole nine yards. Then my parents who still lived under their own roof and me living under my own, needed more of my help.

My parents use to walk 2 miles a day, come rain or shine for over 30 years. Then my Dad had a heart attack in his late 80's and they had to stop those walks. Dad never was able to do that much walking ever again.

What happens is that time becomes so limited when working full-time and the extra time was helping my folks that I had to cut out the gym or any type of exercise. I was amazed how all that hard work being at the gym was slowly disappearing. Then throw in a serious illness on myself. I never got back to my gym weight or strength :((

Now I can't even walk around the block without getting winded.
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We have a metal stool that is padded - when it is turned 1 way you can kneel about 4 inches off the ground but turned the other way you can sit about 16 inches off the ground - it is light & portable - you probably could get a similar one at a good gardening nursery

Otherwise if that is a place that may continually cause an issue - place a stool at the tap area so you can sit to work on the taps

FYI ... when you go out take your keys & hit the alarm button which will set off your car alarm - tell you nieghbours that you are doing so & if they hear the alarm go off then to check your back yard

My massage therapist works from her home & she has a grab bar outside at her front door so maybe buy a few for places that you feel could be a problem - this will be less expensive than a fall!
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Socalgal:

I agree with those who have suggested strength training.

My great uncle is 96 and works out at a gym daily and he is still mentally and physically fit.

He also lives alone.

It has long been a myth that older people can not gain muscle or muscle strength.

This has been proven time and again to be extremely false and harmful to the elderly who hear these myths because it prevents them from working out.

My great Uncle's gym membership is FREE paid for by his supplemental health insurance.

Working out can stave or even prevent dementia and can definitely help you get up more easily and will also improve your balance.
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And if you do decide on using a neck pendant device, I got one for my Mom through Guardian Medical. It is a mobile one and you put the device in your pocket or purse, and wear the lanyard with push-button around your neck.
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If your falls are in the same places ( like the steps ) - you could look into Support Grab Bars being placed around the house. You can leave your hose hooked up too - my DH left ours hooked up all the time.

It may be time to ask at your church for "handymen" to come help around the house. Boyscouts would be another choice for helpers. But a lot of churches have lists of people needing assistance around the house - like for mowing.
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Getting involved with the medical/hospital/rehab systems is an expensive nightmare. Let that alone be your motivation to listen to the advice previously mentioned here and work on developing your leg/arm strength while at the same time getting yourself an emergency alert button. People young and old can slip and fall, even people with caregivers present may not be able to get up on their own...so the buttons can come in handy. Way better to get a little help getting up from 911 guys and gals than to be lying there for hours. Also, look at some ways to garden that don't require being at ground level. Get a garden stool that is lightweight and has handles that work as legs too depending on how you place it; if you garden in pots, you can put one upside down to raise another. You have a lot of life left to enjoy!
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Ask your Doctor for a referral to a Physical Therapist.
They can evaluate your strength for sitting, standing, getting up...Once the evaluation is complete they can work on strength and mobility. You will need to keep this up on your own. If you are on Medicare I think there is a program Silver Sneakers and it covers a gym membership, you might want to check that out.
Last resort...Call 911 and ask for a "Lift Assist" they will come out , help you or anyone else up. They will ask if you need medical attention, transport to the hospital. Just say NO, all I needed was the lift assist. There will be, in most areas, no charge if there is no transport.
Do inform your Doctor that you are having problems and would like the PT evaluation that can help in many ways.
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Keeping up our leg and hip muscles and arm strength is critical as we age. The fitness center I go to has many seniors...I’m 65 but many of them are in 70’s and even older! Even some very obese. The key is to have your doctor refer you to a physical therapist for a mobility assessment and they will assess your strength and give you a program to start doing at home and you will go back and they will check your progress. Also, they can talk to you about how to get up and give suggestions. Medicare will pay for this as they did for my dad when he went through an assessment for mobility. Then add daily walking to your routine. Start out small and build up your time. More fun if you have a buddy. You can usually do the program while watching TV. But do work on those muscles to stay mobile and independent.
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Get the 20- or 60-minute workout for elders on the NIH website:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E8iCYG16ho

Near the end of the workout it gives careful, detailed instructions to use a simple chair to get down on the floor and to get up again.
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SoCalGal75, I know what you are going through. Anytime I am doing gardening, I am squatting down. Then comes to the time to get back up. Oh dear, what to do?

I have one of those orange buckets that are sold at Home Depot that I toss weeds into... it stands a decent size up and I have found that will give me leverage for standing up. I drag that all over the yard with me.  Has also helped when I find myself sitting on the ground not by choice :(

It's like what in the world happened. I remember about 10 years ago I use to be able to work my yard for 8 hours in a day, hauling large bags of mulch, picking up small limbs and pulling weeds. Boy, that ship passed pretty quickly !!
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I had this discussion with Dad who at 89, does weight training each day to keep up his strength. He figured that if he fell in the house, he could use the furniture to help get himself back up. He told me he carried his car keys when working in the garden, so he could set off the car alarm and get the neighbours' attention.

I explained to him that all the furniture in the house could be looked as potential things for him to hit his head on one the way down. If the neighbour who works full time is not home, the car alarm is not going to help. (his home is in a rural area)

We are looking into a personal alarm that can work in multiple locations for him. If we wait for the fall that he cannot get up from, it will be too late. Dad has had one stroke already.

We had a family member who had an alarm, but did not wear it when she got up during the night. She fell and it was 3 days before she was found. By then she was in organ failure and it was too late, she died in hospital.

I strongly encourage SoCalGal to look into a personal alarm sooner than later.

In the mean time, call a plumber and have them put an extension on faucet so you can attach the hose while standing and do not need to bend down to do it. Be mindful of not tripping on the hose as it snakes across the deck.
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I think the best defence is to be proactive, a little bit of strength training can go a long way. There is a great web site called elder gym with simple yet effective exercises, many of them are exactly what my mom used in physical therapy.
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I can't think of a gadget you could carry around with you that would not get in your way and make you more likely to fall in the first place. But if you Google "getting up from the floor after a fall" you will see a range of techniques shown - look through a few until you find one that suits you best.

You say you aren't at the point of needing an alarm "yet." Can I just say, if you wait until you *are* at that point, it's going to be too late, isn't it? Much better to have an alarm set up and not use it, than to need one and still be thinking "oh I'll get one later."
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