Effectiveness of a Practice Regimen for Decreasing Floor Rise Time in Older Adults

Some older adults experience extended periods of time lying on the floor waiting for help to arrive because they can not rise up independently (Campbell et al., 1990; Nevitt, Cummings, and Hudes, 1991). In many of these cases the older adults are not seriously injured, yet they lack the ability to rise up (Tinetti and Speechley, 1989; Vellas, Cayla, Bocquet, Pemille, and Albarede, 1987). Body Recall, an exercise program that teaches floor rising to older adults, advocates practicing getting up from the floor as a method for retaining this ability. The benefit of Body Recall is only anecdotal and has not been examined in a controlled study. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine if teaching and practicing floor rising skills, such as those described in the Body Recall program, will decrease the time it takes for older adults to rise from the floor. Nineteen subjects (ten training subjects with an average age of 83.4 years, and 9 control subjects with an average age of 84.8 years) completed the investigation. The training group participated in an exercise class that used the Body Recall technique of teaching floor rising. The class met 3 days a week for 6 weeks and consisted of a warmup, range of motion exercises and floor rising practice. Measures were taken pre- and post-training to analyze strength, flexibility and floor rise times. After six weeks the training group experienced a significant decrease (42%) in floor rise time. One-repetition maximum (I-RM) scores for leg press and chest press did not change, and sit and reach scores did not change. The control group did not have any significant changes in the variables, but showed a trend toward an increase in floor rise time. Therefore, a six-week class of floor rising practice proved to be effective in decreasing floor rise time in the study group, without a change in strength or flexibility.