Why am I having trouble getting up from a sitting position?

Author: Dr. Tracey Schiller  |  Last update: Wednesday, December 10, 2025

Difficulty getting up from a seated position: Weakness in leg muscles can make standing up challenging. This can lead to increased fall risk and reduced independence. Strengthening exercises: Work on strengthening your leg muscles. Assistive devices: Consider grab bars or a raised toilet seat.

Why is it hard for me to get up after sitting?

Sitting squashes the life out of muscles that help give you hip extension (standing). These are the muscles on your back side. The glutes, the hamstrings, and the deep hip rotators all get squashed while you sit. This reduces blood flow and your brain's connection to the muscles.

What is the inability to get up from sitting position?

This is called startup stiffness and is usually a sign of arthritis in the knee. Other people find it difficult to stand up when they have been sitting in a chair or on a couch. Standing up from a sitting position is quite a complex manoeuvre.

How do you strengthen your muscles to get up from a chair?

4 Most Useful Exercises to Help Getting Up from a Chair
  1. Glute Bridge. This is a great exercise for strengthening the muscles in your lower body—especially the glutes and hamstrings, which are the two most important muscle groups for standing up. ...
  2. Straight Leg Raise. ...
  3. Side-Lying Hip Abduction. ...
  4. Supported Mini Squats.

Why is it suddenly hard to stand up?

Generalized weakness and difficulty standing can be related to a wide variety of medical conditions. Examples can include organ failure, severe infections, and chronic illnesses. These symptoms can also occur following trauma or injury. The sudden onset of weakness can be a sign of a stroke.

Trouble Standing Up From A Low Chair, Couch, or Toilet? Use These Tips

Can hardly walk after sitting?

Q. Why Do I Have Trouble Walking After Sitting? A. Sitting too long can make your muscles and joints stiff, so when you try to walk afterward, they may take time to “wake up” and work properly.

What is the sudden inability to stand?

Astasis is the inability to stand or sit up without assistance in the absence of motor weakness or sensory loss (although the inclusion of 'the lack of motor weakness' has been debated by some physicians).

Why is it harder to get up from sitting as you get older?

It's thought that our tendons get tighter around joints and the cartilage between our joints deteriorates.

What is the inability to get up from a chair?

Why Do I Struggle to Get Up from a Chair?
  • Muscle Weakness. Quadriceps and Glutes: These muscles play a crucial role in the act of rising from a seated position. ...
  • Joint Stiffness. ...
  • Balance Issues. ...
  • Lack of Flexibility. ...
  • Neurological Conditions. ...
  • Strengthening Exercises. ...
  • Flexibility Training. ...
  • Balance and Coordination.

What is the best exercise to strengthen your legs?

Squats — Squatting is one of the best resistance workouts you can do. This exercise works almost all of the muscles in the lower body and is a great way to build leg strength. This is a must-have in your program if you decide to begin resistance training.

Why do my legs feel stiff when I get up from sitting?

One of the main reasons why your muscles may feel stiff after sitting still for a while is because of inactivity. When you sit for long periods of time, your muscles get used to not being used, and this can cause them to become stiff and sore.

What deficiency makes you dizzy when you stand up?

Who might get orthostatic hypotension? Anemia or vitamin B12 deficiency. Dehydration from diarrhea, vomiting or diuretics. Endocrine problems, including diabetes, thyroid disease and Addison disease.

Why am I struggling to do sit-ups?

A weak core is probably one of the biggest reasons why you may struggle to do sit-ups. Even people who are of normal weight and assume that because they're not overweight they should be strong can be surprised to find themselves struggling to perform sit-ups. This could be the sign of a weak core.

Why does it feel so hard to get up?

Possible underlying reasons include depression and anxiety. Depression is linked to dysania, a nonmedical term for when a person feels the need to stay in bed without sleeping. A wide range of physical conditions can also lead to fatigue, making it hard to get up. They include ME/CFS and long COVID.

Is it normal to not be able to stand up straight after sitting?

Although there are a number of reasons that back problems may develop, three of the most common causes of lower back pain that makes it difficult to stand up straight are back sprains or strains, sciatica, and a herniated disc.

Why is it hard to get up from sitting on the floor?

While some people have difficulty getting off the floor because of medical conditions such as vertigo, postural hypotension, prior injuries and/or arthritis, the majority of people who are unable to stand up have age-related deficits in hip and/or core strength that can be corrected with appropriate exercises.

What causes difficulty getting up?

If your legs feel weak and you struggle to get up, then it could be due to a lack of strength in your body. Weak muscles lead to lack of strength and you wobble while getting up. An easy fix of this problem of strength training. Start with bodyweight exercises like lunges, push-ups, planks and squats to build strength.

What muscles help you stand up from a sitting position?

For standing, you use your back and abdominal muscles and those that run from your calves and thighs up to your glutes. To strengthen them, “there's nothing better than just getting out of a chair,” says Neil Alexander, MD, a professor of geriatric and palliative medicine at the University of Michigan.

At what age do you start getting stiff?

Age-related changes to muscle tone and bone strength (also known as sarcopenia) start happening earlier than you may think, in your 30s and 40s. In addition to weakness, our tendons and ligaments lose some of their flexibility and elasticity, leaving us more prone to injuries and falls, shares Christopher.

Why is it hard for older people to get up off the floor?

Our joints are capable of so much more range of motion but as they say “if you don't use it, you lose it”. So as we age and joints naturally get a little stiffer and that available range starts to decrease.

How to reverse muscle atrophy in legs?

The amount of time it takes to regain muscle after atrophy depends on the type of atrophy and how severe your condition was. Disuse (physiologic) atrophy is usually reversible, but it won't happen overnight. You can recover from muscle atrophy by exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet.

What are weak legs a symptom of?

Weakness in the legs is a common symptom of many health conditions and injuries, including autoimmune diseases, spinal conditions and injuries, and stroke.

What does ataxia feel like?

Ataxia describes poor muscle control that causes clumsy movements. It can affect walking and balance, hand coordination, speech and swallowing, and eye movements.

Why would an elderly person suddenly not be able to walk?

Osteoporosis, arthritis, podiatric conditions, and musculoskeletal, joint, and skeletal fractures have become far more common. Cerebellar dysfunction, Parkinson's disease, stroke, and other neurological disorders may also manifest.

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