A sit-to-stand is exactly what it sounds like: you stand up from a chair, ideally without pushing on your hands, then sit back down slowly and with control. It strengthens the thighs and hips, trains balance during a movement you do dozens of times a day, and is a staple of therapy for knee osteoarthritis, recovery after joint replacement and general deconditioning. Clinicians also use timed versions as tests, but this page is general education only; a physical therapist sets your chair height, repetitions and progressions after examining you.
Last updated By the Monon Therapy Collective editorial team
Why is getting out of a chair such a useful exercise?
Getting out of a chair asks the thigh and hip muscles to lift your whole body weight through a large knee bend, so it builds the strength you need for stairs, car seats and getting off the floor. It is also a practical measure of independence: if it becomes hard, daily life usually becomes harder too.
For people with knee osteoarthritis, it offers a way to load the knee that can be scaled up or down by changing the seat height. After a period of illness or inactivity, described on the deconditioning page, it is often one of the first strength exercises reintroduced, because the equipment is a chair you already own.
How do clinicians use sit-to-stand as a test as well as an exercise?
Clinicians time or count chair rises to measure leg strength and fall risk. The CDC’s STEADI fall prevention materials include a 30-second chair stand test, and another common version times five rises in a row.
A therapist compares your result with values for your age and uses it to track change over weeks, which is more meaningful than any single score. You do not need to test yourself at home; doing it carefully with a therapist beside you is safer if your balance is uncertain. The balance and fall prevention therapy page explains how these tests fit into a wider assessment.
How do you adjust the chair to make it easier or harder?
A higher seat makes the movement easier and a lower seat makes it harder, so seat height is the main dial. Speed, hand support, stance and added weight are the others.
| Change | Easier or harder | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Add a firm cushion to raise the seat | Easier | Common in the first weeks after a knee or hip replacement |
| Push lightly on armrests | Easier | A stepping stone toward rising with no hands |
| Use a lower chair or a low box | Harder | More knee bend and more work for the thighs |
| Lower yourself over 3 to 5 slow seconds | Harder | Builds control of the sitting-down half |
| Hold a dumbbell at the chest | Harder | Usually once you can rise easily without hands |
| Place one foot slightly behind the other | Harder for the back leg | Biases work toward a weaker or operated leg |
What sit-to-stand mistakes make it harder on the knees?
Letting the knees collapse inward as you rise and dropping heavily back into the seat are the two habits therapists correct most. Both shift strain onto the knee and take work away from the hips.
- Feet set too far in front of the chair, which forces a rocking lunge to get up.
- Using momentum, a big swing of the arms and trunk, instead of leaning forward first.
- Looking down at the floor so the chest stays folded.
- Standing only partway, never straightening the hips at the top.
- Taking all the weight on the stronger leg after an injury or surgery.
How to do a sit-to-stand, step by step
Use a sturdy chair without wheels, backed against a wall so it cannot slide.
Scoot forward
Sit toward the front half of the seat with your feet flat, hip width apart and slightly behind your knees.
Set your arms
Cross your arms over your chest, or reach them forward. If you need help, rest your hands on the armrests.
Lean forward
Hinge forward from the hips until your nose is roughly over your toes and your weight shifts onto your feet.
Stand up
Breathing out, press through your whole foot and stand all the way up, hips and knees straight, knees pointing over your toes.
Sit down slowly
Reach your hips back toward the chair and lower yourself with control rather than dropping, touching the seat lightly.
Stop and get help if
- You feel lightheaded or faint on standing, or have chest pain or unusual breathlessness.
- Your knee suddenly gives way or locks.
- A joint becomes hot, red and swollen.
- After a joint replacement, your calf becomes painful, swollen or warm: call your surgeon the same day.
If you think it is an emergency, call 911.
