Getting up from a fall when your knees hurt or feel unstable requires a specific sequence of movements that shifts the work away from your knees and onto your arms, hips, and stronger leg. The technique centers on crawling to a sturdy piece of furniture and using it as leverage, keeping your painful knee as unloaded as possible throughout. Here’s exactly how to do it, from the moment you hit the ground to standing safely.
Check Yourself Before You Move
After a fall, the rush of adrenaline can mask a serious injury. Before you try to get up, stay still for a moment and take stock. Wiggle your fingers and toes. Slowly move each limb. If you notice any obvious deformity in a limb, severe pain in your neck or spine, or you feel dizzy or confused, do not attempt to get up. Call 911 or shout for help.
If you feel shaken but nothing seems broken, you can begin the process of getting up. Move slowly and deliberately through each step. Rushing increases the chance of a second fall.
Roll Onto Your Side First
The safest starting position is on your side, not your back. If you landed face-up, bend the knee of your stronger leg (if you can) and use that foot to push yourself into a roll. You can also reach one arm across your body to help generate the turning momentum. Rolling onto the side opposite your bad knee is ideal, since the next step requires you to push up with your stronger leg doing most of the work.
Get Onto All Fours
From your side, use your arms and your stronger leg to push yourself up onto your hands and knees. The key here: keep your bad knee off the ground or bearing as little weight as possible. Plant your arms firmly on the floor to create a stable base. Your stronger knee and both hands form a three-point support system. If the floor is hard and even light contact on your bad knee is painful, fold a nearby towel, jacket, or pillow under it for cushioning before you proceed.
Crawl to a Sturdy Piece of Furniture
Look around for the nearest solid chair, couch, or low table. Crawl toward it slowly, keeping your bad knee elevated or lightly skimming the ground. Do not use furniture with wheels, as it will roll away when you push against it. A heavy armchair, a couch, or a solid coffee table works well. The piece needs to support your full body weight without tipping.
If nothing sturdy is within reach, the bottom few stairs of a staircase or even a wall corner can work. Anything that gives your arms something to push against.
Pull Yourself Up Using the Furniture
Once you reach the furniture, place both hands flat on the seat or surface. This is where your arms and your stronger leg do the heavy lifting. Bring your strong leg forward and plant that foot flat on the floor, roughly under your hip. Your bad knee stays back, bearing as little weight as you can manage.
Now press down through your hands and your strong foot simultaneously. Push yourself upward in a slow, controlled motion. Keep your bad knee relaxed. Don’t try to straighten it forcefully or drive through it. As you rise, shift your weight onto your strong leg and use the furniture for balance. Once you’re mostly upright, pause. Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed slightly outward for stability. Don’t lock either knee straight.
Sit down on the furniture immediately once you’re up. Catch your breath. Check how your knees feel before you try to walk anywhere.
What to Do If You Can’t Get Up
Sometimes the pain is too severe, or you simply don’t have the upper body strength to pull yourself up. That doesn’t mean you’re stuck in danger, but you do need a plan.
First, try to get to a phone. If your cell phone fell nearby or a landline is within crawling distance, reach it and call someone. If you wear a medical alert device, press it now. If neither option is available, make noise. Bang on the floor or wall, shout for neighbors, or push something heavy off a table to create a loud sound.
While you wait, protect yourself from getting cold. Lying on a hard floor pulls heat from your body quickly, and hypothermia can set in even at room temperatures if you’re down long enough. Pull anything soft and warm within reach over yourself: a blanket from a low shelf, couch cushions, a coat draped on a chair, even a rug you can roll yourself onto. Insulation between your body and the floor matters most, since the cold ground draws heat faster than the air does. Try to get at least a layer or two underneath you if possible.
Assistive Devices Worth Knowing About
If falls are a recurring concern, several devices can make getting up from the floor far easier. Electric floor-to-stand lifts can raise a person from ground level to a seated or standing position, with some models supporting up to 500 pounds. These are designed for home use and don’t require a second person to operate, though they’re a significant investment.
A simpler option is keeping a sturdy step stool or a low, heavy ottoman in the rooms where you spend the most time. This gives you something to crawl to that’s lower than a chair, making that first push-up easier on your arms. Some people also keep a pair of firm cushions on the floor near their bed or favorite chair to soften a potential landing and give their knees padding during the crawl phase.
Exercises That Make Getting Up Easier
The muscles that matter most for getting off the floor aren’t just in your knees. Your glutes, hamstrings, and core do the bulk of the work when your knees can’t. Strengthening them ahead of time makes a real difference.
Standing hip hinges train your glutes and hamstrings to pull your torso upright, which is exactly the motion you need during the final push to standing. Stand with feet hip-width apart, bend at the waist while keeping your back flat, then squeeze your glutes to return upright. This movement controls how force passes through your knee, reducing the load on the joint itself.
Seated leg extensions strengthen the quadriceps, particularly the inner portion of the muscle that controls the last few degrees of straightening your leg. Sit in a chair and slowly extend one leg until it’s straight, hold briefly, then lower it. This builds the strength you need to stabilize your knee as you stand.
Wall-facing chair squats work your entire lower body in a controlled range. Stand facing a wall with a chair behind you, lower yourself until you lightly touch the seat, then drive through your feet to stand back up. The wall prevents you from leaning too far forward, and the chair catches you if your legs give out.
Practicing these three to four times a week builds the functional strength that turns “I can’t get up” into “I can get up slowly.” Even a few weeks of consistent work can improve your confidence and ability to recover from a fall independently.