Take Charge of Your Safety. The Timed Get Up and GO, TUG; A Basic Fall Risk Assessment You Can Do Today.

Falls can have serious consequences, especially as we age. As a physical therapist and advocate for proactive health, I believe in empowering individuals to take charge of their well-being. In this post, we'll explore a basic fall risk assessment that you can easily incorporate to assess yourself or family members. This simple test provides valuable insight into ones balance and mobility, helping you identify the risk for falls and motivating you to develop a plan to improve safety and mobility.

1. The Timed Up and Go (TUG) Test:

            •   Purpose: The TUG test is a quick and effective way to assess your basic mobility and balance

   What you will need:

o   A stopwatch in iPhone or smart watch, for timing.

o   A sturdy chair.

o   A space that is open and free of clutter, and that the flooring is one surface, where one is able to walk a distance of at least 10 feet and turn safely to return to the chair.

o   Tape to mark the 10 foot distance.

How to Do It:

•  Start by sitting in a sturdy chair with armrests.

• Mark off ten feet from the chair.

• Instruct the testee that on "go" signal, they will stand up,

  walk the ten feet (about three meters) to the area you marked on the floor,

• turn around safely,

• walk back to the chair ,

• sit down safely and under control.

 You will time them from the moment you start to when they have completely sat back down.

What does the results mean? If it took 10 seconds or less, no fall risk identified from the TUG test.

If the time was greater than > 13.5 seconds, indicates an increased risk for falls.

If overall time is less than < 20 seconds = a person has ok mobility, can go out alone, are mobile however one should assess for a gait aid, i.e. cane or walker.

If the time is greater than < 30 seconds = In my professional opinion the patient is a high fall risk. cannot go outside alone, requires a cane or walker to be safe.