9 Excellent Devices to Help Elderly People Stand Up

Standing often becomes more difficult as people age. Joints tend to feel weaker, while problems like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and muscle loss all work against the senior. Thankfully, there are solutions, including exercises to strengthen muscles and devices to help elderly people stand up.

Devices don’t need to be complicated to do the job well, nor do you need to make dramatic changes to your home. Instead, you can often find something simple that helps the senior to stand more easily and safely.

Doing so is powerful. The ability to sit and stand easily is important for independence. Who wants to feel stressed every time they sit down and get up?

Types of Devices to Help Elderly People Stand Up

• Lift Chairs
• Chair Assists
• Toilet Frames and Raised Toilet Seats
• Grab Bars
• Canes
• Couch Standing Aids
• Bed Standing Aids
• Stander HandyBar
• Furniture Raisers

Lift Chairs

Lift chairs have inbuilt mechanisms to make it easy for seniors to stand up again. This often includes tilting the chair forward using a motor.

Aside from this, they act like normal armchairs. This means they’re generally comfortable and are a breeze to use. Many also have reclining functions, so seniors can easily rest in the chair.

We covered some of the best products on the market in our post on Lifting Chairs for Seniors. That post also provides information about features to look for when choosing a lift chair.  

Chair Assists

While lift chairs are powerful, they’re also expensive and aren’t very portable. Chair assist tools tend to be cheaper and can be just as helpful.

Carex, for example, offers portable lifting seats that only weigh around 9 pounds. They use a gas spring to help seniors stand and don’t even rely on batteries. There’s also an inflatable product from SitnStand that helps seniors to stand as well.

Most such products aren’t as powerful as a lift chair. They often don’t support as much weight and are also less reliable. Even so, they’re often inexpensive and are practical, making them an excellent choice in many situations.

Toilet Frames and Raised Toilet Seats

Toilet seats are surprisingly low and seniors often struggle to get up from them. This is a severe issue, as anything that makes using the toilet more difficult may make people reluctant, which then increases the risk of incontinence accidents.

Two things can make the toilet much easier to use – raising the toilet seat or adding handles that can be used for leverage.

Many products combine the two features, giving you a raised toilet seat that also has handles (like this one). This approach is powerful, making the toilet much easier to get up from.  

Grab Bars

Grab bars are generally installed onto walls in your home, although you can find floor-to-ceiling versions as well (like this one). They’re a common way to improve safety in the bathroom, as the risk of slipping in this room is high.

Installing bars next to the toilet can be particularly powerful.

Whenever possible, look for bars that can be screwed into the wall, rather than ones that attach via suction or some other mechanism. This is important, as even the best suction-based products don’t work all the time. You don’t want the tool to lose grip right when the senior is leaning on it.

In fact, you should always look for secure devices to help elderly people stand up. They may be placing their full weight on whatever device you choose. If it gives way at that moment, the senior could get seriously hurt.

Similarly, it’s crucial to stick to the weight limits on any device and make sure it is installed according to instructions. Doing so reduces the risk of injury considerably.  

Canes

Canes can help seniors too, especially if you choose one with a sturdy base. The Rock Steady Cane is an excellent version to try out. It has two legs rather than one, making it much studier and less likely to slip.

However, this is an approach to use with caution. While canes and walkers can be used as standing aids, they’re not secured in place and can easily slip when downward pressure is applied to them. Because of this, canes are best used when seniors need a little extra help with standing. If the senior starts to lean heavily or put all their weight on the cane, it’s time to find a different approach.

Couch Standing Aids

Some devices to help elderly people stand up are designed with specific situations in mind. Products like the Stander CouchCane are an example of this pattern.

The tool is a little like a cane, except that it is secured under your chair or couch. This makes it sturdy and means that it will stay in place.

The dimensions of the tool are adjustable, making this suitable for most couches and chairs. The weight capacity only goes up to 250 pounds, but this is still high enough for many seniors.

Some versions of the tool take the features further and include a swivel tray table, perfect for eating meals from.

Another style is the Stander EZ Stand-N-Go, which fits under couch cushions and gives seniors two handles that help to leverage them up.

The standard version is suitable for seniors weighing up to 300 pounds, while the bariatric version goes up to 400 pounds instead.

Bed Standing Aids

There are similar products for beds too. Many will slip under the mattress to help keep them secure. The Medline Bed Assist Bar is a popular example. The bar makes standing up easier and there is even a pocket for items you might want close at hand, like magazines, books, and reading glasses.

Stander HandyBar

This tool is fantastic for traveling or for any time a senior is traveling. It is a small portable handle that can be inserted into any U-shaped door latch or striker. The handle provides resistance, helping the senior to stand without a problem.

The grip on the bar is designed to be ergonomic and non-slip, so seniors can use it easily. The bar even supports up to 350 pounds, allowing seniors to put their entire body weight on it when they’re getting up.

Furniture Raisers

The final approach is to simply raise the height of your furniture. Doing so reduces how far seniors need to go when they stand up and sit down, which makes the movement much easier.

Furniture raisers are amazing because they’re often tiny little blocks that you put under your furniture (like these ones). They’re often inexpensive and simple yet are powerful enough to make standing up easy again.

Other Ways To Help With Standing

This list has featured a variety of devices to help elderly people stand up. The tools are all valuable and can restore mobility, but there are a few other things to think about.

The first is muscle development. Sitting to standing problems can get worse when the senior’s muscles decline. This often happens with age, particularly if they’re not eating much protein and aren’t exercising much.

Thankfully, muscle decline can be reversed, using approaches like these:

• Increasing protein intake. Soft meats can be a good approach here, as meat is high in protein. You can also turn to protein shakes. Some brands taste like dessert and can convince even the pickiest eaters.
• Regular exercise. Moving more helps seniors to strengthen their muscles. Resistance exercise is the most powerful tool here. Don’t worry, there’s no need to visit a gym. Plenty of resistance exercises can be practiced at home without equipment.
• Targeted exercises. You can also turn to exercises designed to strengthen the muscles used for sitting and standing, like this one.  
• Get up and down more often. Seniors who struggle to stand can get into a concerning loop, where they get up as little as possible, which risks weakening their muscles and making the problem worse. It’s much better for them to get up and down regularly, even when doing so is difficult.
• Talk to a physical therapist. A physical therapist may be able to pinpoint specific issues that are making standing difficult. They may also propose solutions or exercises that can help address the underlying problems.

The second area is the senior’s physical health. A healthy senior is likely to find getting up and down easier than one who isn’t healthy. This highlights the importance of good nutrition and plenty of exercise.

Finally, it’s worth talking to a doctor if the senior continues to have difficulty standing up. Their struggles may signal an underlying problem that could be easily missed otherwise.