This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in March of 2024. For the original video go to https://youtu.be/_g7bmoHvb40
Mike: As we age, some tasks, like getting out of a chair can become more challenging.
Brad: So today, we're going to show you one simple trick that can help you get out of a chair much easier.
Mike: Plus, we're going to show you eight additional tips that may help as well if this isn't working for you.
Brad: That's right. So getting out of a chair for many people as we age can get more and more difficult. But there's a simple trick that we're going to show you how you can do it much easier.
Mike: Now, the main issue often is not getting under your center of gravity when attempting to get out of a chair. If you are going in an upright posture trying to go up, your gravity is backward, which oftentimes wants to throw you back. So Brad, what can they do to counter this?
Brad: Well, this is something we've worked with patients over the years, many, many, many times, and it's simply this. I'll give you the procedure that I use, Mike. You can do anything that you have used with patients to make it work better for you. First I'll say, scoot your butt forward a little bit and then take your feet, slide them under the chair a little bit, and lean forward.
Brad: We're changing the center of gravity, making everything work around a pivot point, which makes it much easier, needs less leg strength, and balances much better. So again, butt forward, feet under, lean forward, nose over toes. You'll hear that from therapists a lot and all of a sudden it becomes at least half as much energy to get up. Mike, do you have any additions?
Mike: That is the best way to get up, the one simple trick we mentioned in the title, but that may not work for everyone. So now we're going to show eight other options depending on what chair you're getting out of.
Brad: Eight other options, yes. Nice little tricks you'll want to stick around and see because one of them might be just a big difference for you or a loved one who's having difficulty with this. Number one.
Mike: Tip number one is if you can do this, lean forward, but you feel unsteady once you get up, like you're going to tip over forward, what you can do is try to place either a chair or maybe you already use a walker, just put your walker in front of you. That way after you scoot your butt forward, nose over toes, push up, you can grab and hold onto something. We do not recommend trying to pull and push, because oftentimes it's just going to tip back in your lap. So this is just kind of something there to make you feel safe and like you're not going to fall over on your nose.
Brad: And if you do feel like you're going to fall over on your nose, but this helps, you probably need a walker anyway, so maybe it's time to make that transition. That can be a big step for a lot of people, but when you are safe and when you feel relaxed getting up, your life is going to feel much better and things go well.
Mike: And when you're sitting for a while, if you don't want the walker in front of you, just scoot it to the side, but make sure to bring it back. Too many times I've seen people leave it off to the side here and then they're trying to reach for it once their up and unsteady.
Brad: Right, right. Good point, Mike. Now, if getting out of a chair is a problem and you go into a room and there's chairs to pick from, make sure you get the right chair. I do this all the time for my mother. She uses a walker and I pick out a chair that is going to be easy for her to get up. There's a couple things that are important and the biggest one is how high the seat pan or the seat is from the ground. Now if it's low and even one inch lower, it's going to make a big difference on getting out of a chair if you're having problems already. Mike, can you demonstrate?
Mike: Another thing to look for is that it actually has armrests because that's going to make it a lot easier. Some people can push up from their legs, and that's okay, but having armrests is going to make it a lot easier. Obviously, you can see this chair I have set lower, it's a computer chair, it's going to be harder to get up versus this type of chair. Obviously if you have bad balance, you probably don't want a chair with wheels. They're less steady, especially when you sit down like this.
Brad: Right, so in the case that a chair is too low and then maybe in the person's house, you could simply use a pillow to put under on the chair and even a pillow can make a big difference on that person getting up much easier. What even works better is a firm pad. Something like the Pete's Choice pad, but anything that's a little firmer that'll go one, maybe two inches.
Brad: It's amazing how much easier it is to get up when you're elevated just a little bit. If you do not have armrests, it's a problem, particularly if you need them. The best thing you can do is when there's nobody to help, you can put your hands on your thighs, lean forward and kind of use those as the armrests of a chair. It can be very helpful. And yeah, Mike, did we miss anything?
Brad: We missed a few of them. Here's another tip, you can also try a staggered arm stand. Some people will use a armrest on one side and then they'll simply use their knee on the other. Sometimes having this different positioning like that can help them stand up. I find it more beneficial if you feel uncomfortable leaning forward because you have that hand in front of you helping as well.
Brad: Yeah, and another big red flag is we're using this chair because it's adjustable up and down. But another thing, if the chair does rotate like this one, you know it's going to be a red flag. Don't use a computer chair. So here, we've got the best chair right here. It's solid, it's firm, and it has armrests. Soft, cushy chairs, nice to sit in, but they're very difficult to get out of as well.
Mike: Now we were able through five solutions there. We still got three more for you. Now if you find yourself stuck in the chair, no armrest kind of low to the ground, an option you can try if you're able is to turn sideways. Sometimes you can use the seat pan then and then the back of the seat as your armrests to help push up. Some people, that makes it easier.
Brad: That's right. Now, another solution. Now, this is more of a long-term solution, is actually strengthening those legs so that the thighs and the glutes are stronger so you can get up with less arm assist. That's something that you can find on our YouTube channel and look up senior leg strengthening, you will find nice exercises to get you those results.
Mike: Now, one exercise you can do is simply practicing sit to stands. If you really struggle with this, just simply place a pad like we talked about earlier, I grabbed the extra large one here, but it'll make you that much higher up, making it that much easier to stand up when you want to. So that's a simple solution. Don't get one too big like this though.
Brad: The other option is using a lift chair. It's actually a recliner that lifts up with a push of the button. The big thing about lift chairs is it'll get you up very nicely. Easy to get out, but don't go up too high. Make sure you have to work to get up, so that you maintain strength in your legs. That's the only precaution with lift chairs. They do work very nice, they're comfortable. My mom has one and I like to sit in it as well. They're very comfortable.
Mike: They also do make a lifting-type seat cushion that has hydraulics in it. So when you start standing up, it'll actually help you push up. Some people I've seen use that before if they're more wheelchair bound because it's hard for them to get out of that low surface as well.
Brad: Right, and those chairs or lift seats actually can moved from one chair to another and they're not that heavy. They work quite well actually.
Mike: Yep.
Brad: All right, so I'm hoping this video was helpful and you're going to find some helpful hints in it. We'd also like to show something that we just came out with. It's this book called "Top 3 Fix." Bob Schrupp and Rick Olderman, Physical Therapists, both of them and outstanding ones, wrote this book and they show three fixes for different parts of the body in regards to pain. Neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain, ankle pain, knee pain, et cetera. It goes through and it gives you, not only explanations of how to do the exercises, but videos come along with it. Actually, Mike and I are in the video, so you'll certainly like that as well.
Brad: All right, we like to, here at Bob and Brad, inform you of some of our products that we promote because we really like them. Now, massage guns are very popular and this gun actually is one of our most popular guns that we sell and we've actually made it better in a big way. Mike, you wanna talk about it a little more?
Mike: So this is the C2 massage gun with heat and ice massage gun attachment. Brad is holding it in his hand right now, so it can be set to feel cold like ice or heat, so it can warm up actually, and it stays constantly warm or cold depending upon the setting.
Brad: That's right, the cold setting, which I was surprised, it stays cold after it is on your body for any amount of time. It really works well. It also does come with the typical airhead, the round head, the bullet head, and the little field goal head as well. But this separates it from the rest of our products, as well as many other products out there. Now I do have it right now on the cold setting. It does have 10 millimeters of amplitude. In other words, it reciprocates back and forth 10 millimeters, which is nice and deep. You're going to get in deep and again, I can feel that cold. It is really a nice gun and it's gotten better because of this new head.
Mike: And it has 44 pounds of stall force, meaning how hard you have to push it to try to actually get the component to stall out.
Brad: Boy, I almost got cramps doing it.
Mike: So, don't push that hard normally because I wouldn't want to massage myself that hard.
Brad: It is a really nice product. If you're looking for a gun, I would consider it as long as you're looking for these options. Enjoy the day, and Mike?
Mike: You forgot to talk about the carrying case, rechargeable features, and the five-speed settings.
Brad: Yes, all of our products have a beautiful carrying case. You know, they fit in there nicely and you know, it's just great. Got little four on the back, LED lights, it's pretty.
Mike: If you want to check out more videos on leg strengthening specifically for seniors, you can check out our video "3 Leg Strengthening Exercises Every Senior Should Do," because that again, will help you stand up easier.
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