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Fall Risk Awareness & Prevention: Sit-To-Stand Self Test

Fall Risk Awareness & Prevention:

Sit-To-Stand Self Test

By Biagio Mazza

So, what are some easy self-tests that you can do to assess your fall risk?

One of my favorites that we utilize at Elite Sports Medicine and Physical Therpay is a 30-second sit-to-stand test.

Essentially what you're gonna do is your gonna find a chair. Be sure it has a sturdy base and will not move easily. You are not allowed to use the arms in this test. This test will require you to count your repetitions for 30 seconds. You can have somebody count for you and/or take time for you.

  1. Begin by sitting in the chair. Cross your arms and place your hands in opposite shoulders
  2. Stand up and then back down, touching your rear-end to the chair (it MUST touch the chair for it to count as a repetition)
  3. Count your repetitions for 30 seconds

The normative values for the number of times that you can get up and down are age-dependent. For example, if you are approximately 60 years old, your average number is somewhere between 12 and 19. If you're higher than that, fantastic. If you're lower than that, you actually classify as a fall risk.

So an easy, relatively safe test that you can do to assess your risk for falls. If you are at risk for falls we strongly encourage you to schedule an appointment with your physical therapist to build strength and increase your balance. This will be extremely beneficial to prevent falls and fall-related injuries.