REFERENCE · RECOVERY TECHNIQUE
Getting Up Safely After an Uninjured Event
When this may help: After a familiar event without injury, use a previously assessed way to rise or obtain help, without repeated standing tests. [Clinical falls-safety guidance; not an attack-stopping treatment]
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Recovery begins before standing
Finding yourself on the floor can bring an urgent wish to get up, particularly in public. Take time to work out what happened and whether you may be injured. Orientation means knowing where you are and what is happening. It is a safety check, not an exercise you must complete to prove the event was functional. [1][2]
This page concerns a familiar, uninjured event once it is safe to consider moving. If there is a head strike, significant pain, possible fracture, new neurological symptom or unusual confusion, use the injury-response plan and seek appropriate help. Do not move into a practice routine when the situation needs assessment. [2][3]
Learn your own method before you need it
Ask a physiotherapist or occupational therapist to assess floor recovery in a suitable setting. A method has to fit your arm and leg strength, joints, balance, pain and dizziness. Some people can use a taught sequence and stable support; others need trained assistance or lifting equipment. A generic online sequence cannot decide which is safe for you. [2][4]
The plan should include what happens when you cannot use the usual method: who to call, how to describe the need and how help will reach you. Safe rehearsal of getting up is different from deliberately provoking a fall. Do not practise falling at home to prepare for attacks.
After a familiar uninjured event
Pause, check your surroundings and use the agreed method only when the required control and support are available. If a step is not possible, stop and use the assistance plan. You do not need to repeatedly stand to reassure yourself or another person that the attack has finished. [2][4]
Once safely seated or otherwise supported, allow time to recover before deciding about the next activity. A rapid return of movement does not oblige you to continue an outing immediately. You may still be shaken, sore or exhausted.
When getting up is not possible
Call for help using your phone or alarm; if unavailable, attract attention in a way you can manage. Do not accept an untrained lift. Keep warm where possible and tell responders about pain or possible injury before being moved. Inability to rise safely is a reason to obtain help, not a reason to keep trying until exhausted. [2]
During clusters of attacks, a plan may need more assistance or a different setting. Review repeated floor time, injuries, near falls during rising or a recovery pattern that has changed. The goal is a reliable route to safety, not the fastest possible return to standing. [1][4]
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Give space and privacy without leaving someone who needs help alone. Ask what support is wanted and follow the trained plan. Do not pull them up by the wrists or insist they demonstrate walking before you help.
If the person cannot use the agreed method, call for appropriate assistance. Protecting your own safety is part of a workable response; an improvised lift can injure both of you.
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Assess floor-to-seat or floor-to-stand ability when clinically appropriate, including upper-limb loading, hip/knee range, pain, balance and orthostatic tolerance. Specify the equipment and assistance required, plus a contingency for injury or unavailable movement. [2][4]
Do not extrapolate generic floor-recovery advice to someone with a suspected fracture, spinal injury or new focal deficit. Record time stranded, assistance and consequences as care outcomes; getting up quickly neither confirms the diagnosis nor proves absence of injury. [2][3][5]
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General falls guidance supports help-seeking and cautious recovery. The individualized method is a clinical adaptation, not a tested treatment for functional drop attacks. The page deliberately does not provide an unsupervised lifting or falling technique. [2][4]
Evidence reviewed: September 24, 2026. Examples are educational illustrations, not patient quotations or tested protocols.
| Citation | Full citation and stable record | Support and limits | Figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hoeritzauer I, Carson AJ, Stone J. “Cryptogenic drop attacks” revisited: evidence of overlap with functional neurological disorder. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. 2018;89(7):769–776. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2017-317396 FND-CIT-0059 | Retrospective drop-attack cohort; clinical overlap and naturalistic outcomes cannot establish treatment efficacy or diagnose every unexplained fall. | — |
| 2 | NHS. Falls. Reviewed March 6, 2025; accessed September 24, 2026. Source. FND-CIT-0216 | General falls safety and care guidance; not an FND trial. Transfer and activity advice needs adaptation to the person and any injury. | — |
| 3 | NHS. Head injury and concussion. Reviewed May 29, 2025; accessed September 24, 2026. Source. FND-CIT-0217 | General head-injury assessment and safety guidance; applies regardless of the cause of the fall. | — |
| 4 | Nicholson C, Edwards MJ, Carson AJ, et al. Occupational therapy consensus recommendations for functional neurological disorder. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. 2020;91(10):1037–1045. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2019-322281 FND-CIT-0011 | FND occupational therapy consensus: activity and access planning; not direct evidence that equipment or an individual adaptation prevents drop attacks. | — |
| 5 | Bennett K, Diamond C, Hoeritzauer I, Gardiner P, McWhirter L, Carson A, Stone J. A practical review of functional neurological disorder (FND) for the general physician. Clinical Medicine. 2021;21(1):28–36. https://doi.org/10.7861/clinmed.2020-0987 FND-CIT-0001 | Practical clinical review: positive diagnosis and coexisting conditions, not a drop-attack treatment trial. | — |
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