Bridging across the bed is a way to move yourself sideways while lying on your back, say to get closer to the edge before you sit up. You bend your knees, lift your hips, move them a little to one side and lower them, then bring your shoulders and feet across so you line up again. Physios and occupational therapists teach it as part of bed mobility, and it works the buttock muscles too. In the video it is done on a floor mat, but the moves are the same on a firm bed.

How to do the bridging across the bed

Lie on your back with both knees bent and your feet flat, about hip width apart. Your arms can rest by your sides or fold across your chest; the woman in the video uses both.
Push down through both feet, squeeze your buttocks and lift your hips a little way off the bed.
With your hips up, move them a short distance toward the side you want to go, then lower them gently.
Shift your shoulders across in the same direction, in small wriggles, until your head and trunk line up with your hips again.
Last, move your feet over so they sit in line with your hips. Repeat the whole sequence until you are where you want to be in the bed.

What you should feel

Work in your buttocks and the backs of your thighs as you lift, and a light effort through your trunk as you shift. The hips only need to clear the bed, so a small lift is enough.

Common mistakes

Lifting too high, so the lower back arches and takes over from the buttocks.
Trying to cover a long distance in one move, which can tip you off balance or toward the edge.
Leaving the shoulders or feet behind, so you end up lying twisted.
Holding your breath while the hips are up.

How often

In daily life, bridge across any time you need to move over in bed. For practice, many programs use 5 to 10 bridges with a small shift each time, once or twice a day, resting whenever you need to. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Your back, hip or knee hurts sharply, or an ache lingers once you stop.
The backs of your thighs cramp. Lower your hips, rest, and start the next one with your heels nearer your bottom.
You feel dizzy, lightheaded or faint, or the room seems to spin, as you move in bed or sit on its edge. Stop, lie back down on the bed if you can, and keep still until it passes. If it does not pass within a minute or two, or it keeps happening, get medical advice the same day before you practice again. If you faint, it does not settle within a few minutes of keeping still, or your vision suddenly blurs or goes double, call emergency services.
Your calf or thigh is getting more swollen, or becomes warm, tender, red or darker than usual, or has a new throbbing or cramping pain. This can be a blood clot, especially after an operation, an injury, time in a cast, boot or brace, or a spell of being much less mobile than usual, and after an operation it can also be an infection. Stop and contact your medical team or get medical advice the same day. If you are also short of breath or have chest pain, call emergency services.
You suddenly become short of breath, get chest pain or pain in your upper back that may be worse when you breathe in, cough up blood, your heart beats very fast, or you faint. Call emergency services straight away, even if your leg looks normal, as this can be a blood clot in the lungs (pulmonary embolism).

From the clinic

What follows is the general bridging technique, not a stroke rehab program. If a stroke or another condition has left one side of your body weak, your physio or occupational therapist decides how you do it and whether you need a helper.

If you have had a hip replacement, get the go-ahead from your surgeon or physio before you try bridging across the bed. Shifting your hips sideways while your feet stay put angles the thigh on that side in toward the middle of your body, and many surgeons ask you to avoid that for the first months after some operations. After an operation on your knee or back, your surgical team's instructions for moving in bed come first. If you are pregnant and past the first three months, check with your physio before exercising flat on your back.

Use a firm bed and start from the middle, so each shift brings you toward the edge and not off it. If the bed has wheels, put the brakes on, and keep someone close for your first few tries. Rest a weak arm on your tummy, where it cannot get caught as you move. Whoever helps you must not drag you across by that arm, and your physio or occupational therapist can show them a better way. From near the edge, the log roll out of bed gets you from lying to sitting.

Most people feel a bit clumsy while they learn this, and that is fine. A sudden loss of balance is different. Call emergency services straight away for any sign of a stroke, even if it goes away: sudden dizziness with unsteadiness or falling over, a face that droops on one side, an arm you cannot lift or keep up, slurred or muddled speech, weakness or numbness on one side of your body or face, sudden blurred vision, double vision or loss of sight, or a sudden severe headache. If one side is already weak or numb from an earlier stroke, new or suddenly worse weakness or numbness is a sign, and every other sign in this list still counts.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-26.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Bridging across the bed