Rising from a supine position to erect stance. Description of adult movement and a developmental hypothesis

Standing up from a supine position is important for physical independence. This study was designed to describe movements within specific body regions used to stand up from a supine position. Another purpose was to identify motor developmental sequences for the upper extremities, lower extremities, and axial region for this rising task. Thirty-two young adults were videotaped while rising from a supine position 10 times. Descriptive categories were formed to portray movements of the upper extremities, lower extremities, and axial region. Subjects varied greatly in the movement patterns they used to rise. Only 25% of the subjects demonstrated a similar combination of movements during rising. That combination involved symmetrical use of the limbs and trunk while flexing forward from a supine position, moving through sitting to squatting, then standing. An ordering of categories was found for each body region that was proposed as a developmental sequence of movement patterns for this task. The variability of subjects' movements while rising provides clinicians with numerous movement combinations that might be used when teaching patients to stand from a supine position.