If You Have Parkinson’s, Get Up Like This to Avoid Injuring Your Back

We have a few basic movement rules at the Rebel Fit Club, one being that you don’t use your legs to get yourself up from a lying position. Many people have never learned how to safely get up from lying down. The default is to use your legs as giant levers and heave yourself up with force. You might not think you’re hurting your back, but every time you do this, it’s like a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off.

When you hike your leg to sit up, you are pulling on your spine. As you throw your leg out and down, you are basically using your leg (femur) to heave your spine forward using the large hip flexor muscles (iliopsoas and iliacus) that attach to your leg, across the pelvis, and to several vertebrae of the spine. With Parkinson’s, the hip flexors are already tight and pulling you forward. We want to lengthen them, not shorten and tighten them.

There is a safer way to get up from lying down. Watch this video to see how easy it is to use the roll-over method:

• To lie down from a seated position, roll on your side, and then roll over onto your back.

• To get up, roll over onto your side using your foot to help you roll. Then push up using your arms.

Repeating this over and over will help make it a habit. Then, the next time you want to get up off the floor, you will automatically roll over instead of using your leg to hoist yourself up.

Practice it! You’ll find it easier and less jarring on your body.

As always, go forth and conquer!

💜 Coach Kimberly