
Being able to lie down and get up from the floor (LDGU) seems like nothing special. Right? But now imagine being eighty years old and being able to carry out this task in a harmonious and safe way. What would that say about your movement competence?
Well, you would need to have acceptable levels of mobility, stability, coordination, balance and strength to be able to perform such a “feat” without great effort.
LDGU is one of those things that we underestimate throughout our adult lives. “Hanging around on the floor, it´s a childrens thing” we say. And in fact, we are right. Children do not miss an opportunity to interact closely with the floor. Perhaps that is why squatting doesn´t represent any challenge for them. It´s just a way to get closer to the floor and explore the world around them.
This lack of interaction with the floor, will have negative effects on our movement in the long run, including the inability to get up from the floor, difficulty in performing basic human movements, and being less prepared to recover from a fall. According to BERGLAND and LAAKE (2005), the inability to get up from the floor is associated with advanced age, high morbidity and low functional capacity. Several studies also report that the inability to get up can lead to long periods on the floor after a fall, resulting in dehydration, pressure ulcers, muscle injuries and even kidney failure.
Although this is a real problem, a study carried out by SIMPSON and SALKIN (1993) reports that only 11% of physiotherapists taught older adults how to get up from the floor. Furthermore, the vast majority of existing research on this topic is done with older adults (≥ 65 years) where limitations are already in place. It would be interesting to look at this problem from a preventive point of view; to start working on this interaction with the floor in younger adults where the decline in movement is not yet so pronounced.
To what extent could practicing lying on the floor, moving around on it (rolling, crawling) and getting up from it at earlier ages reduce the incidence of older adults inability to LDGU? And what effect would this work have on maintaining or improving basic movement patterns such as squatting, lunging, or pushing?
As babies, we began our movement journey moving on the floor and getting up from it. It was through this process that we acquired the foundations of our movement. So why don’t we return to it as a way of maintaining those basic capabilities? Perhaps nature has already offered us the “secret” to our movement longevity, it´s just a matter of us making use of it.
References:
1. Bergland A, Laake K. Simultaneous and predictive validity of “getting up from the floor”. Aging Clin Exp Res 2005;17:181-5.
2. Fleming J, Brayne C, CC75C collaborative. Falls in advanced old age: recalled falls and prospective follow-up of people over 90 years of age in the CC75C study. BMC Geriatria 2008;8:6.
3. Simpson JM, Sharon S. Are seniors at risk of falling taught to get up again? Age Aging 1993; 22: 294-6.
4. Tinetti ME, Liu WL, Claus EB. Predictors and prognosis of inability to get up after falls in the elderly. JAMA 1993; 269: 65-70.
5. Vellas B, Cayla F, Bocquet H, et al. Prospective study of activity restriction in elderly people after falls. Age Aging 1987;16:189-93.
6. Wild D, Nayak US, Isaacs B. How dangerous are falls in elderly people at home? BMJ 1981;282:266-8.

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