Propping up on your elbows means raising your head and upper body from lying on your back until your weight rests on both forearms, with your legs staying straight on the bed. You hold for a short while, then straighten your arms out and lower yourself back down. It is an early step toward sitting up in bed, and it works the stomach muscles and the backs of the shoulders.

How to do the propping up on your elbows in bed

Lie on your back with your legs straight and your arms by your sides, elbows close to your body.
Lift your head and shoulders, press your elbows down into the bed and work them back until they sit under your shoulders as your chest comes up.
Rest your weight on both forearms, with your legs relaxed and straight. Hold for a few breaths.
To come down, slide your elbows forward and straighten your arms as you lower your upper body slowly back to the bed.
Pause flat for a moment before the next one.

What you should feel

Effort in your stomach as you lift, and in the backs of your shoulders and upper arms while you hold. Your neck works a little too; if it strains, come up less far.

Common mistakes

Jerking the upper body up instead of lifting smoothly.
Letting the elbows sit far out to the sides, so the shoulders take the strain.
Holding your breath while you are propped up.
Dropping back down in one go instead of lowering with control.

How often

Many programs start with 5 to 10 lifts, holding each for a few seconds, once or twice a day. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

A shoulder hurts as you lean on your elbows, especially the shoulder of a weak arm.
Pain in your neck or back that builds while you hold.
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

This is the general technique only, and it is not a stroke rehab program. With one side weakened by a stroke or another condition, let your physio or occupational therapist decide how you prop up and whether someone should be there to help. Do not force your weight through the elbow of a weak arm. Your therapist will tell you whether that shoulder is ready and how to position it, and no helper should pull you up by that arm.

After shoulder surgery, including a rotator cuff repair, or after a shoulder fracture or dislocation, follow your surgeon's or physio's plan, and do only the movements and range they have cleared. Many plans allow only passive movement at first, where the arm is moved for you and its muscles stay relaxed. Leaning on your elbows puts weight through both shoulders, so ask before you start.

If you have osteoporosis or have had a spinal fracture, ask your physio first, because lifting your head and shoulders from lying bends the spine forward under load, and the log roll may suit you better. If you have recently given birth, including by cesarean section, or you have a gap down the middle of your stomach muscles (diastasis recti), ask your physio, midwife or doctor first. If you are pregnant and past the first three months, check with your physio before exercising flat on your back.

Work in the middle of a firm bed, well clear of the edge, with someone close by for your first few sessions. Coming up from lying can leave some people light-headed, so rise slowly and rest flat between lifts if you need to. When this feels easy, rolling onto your side in bed and the log roll out of bed are the usual ways to get the rest of the way to sitting.

You may feel wobbly on your elbows at first. 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.

Propping up on your elbows in bed