Rolling onto your side in bed usually starts at the hips. You bend one knee, push down through that foot and let the hip lift and turn toward your straight leg, and the shoulders then follow you over. The video shows this first part on its own: the hip lifts and turns, holds there, then lowers back down. Practicing it this way builds the push you need for the full roll, which you use to change position or to get ready to sit up.

How to do the rolling onto your side in bed

Lie on your back in the middle of the bed with both legs straight and your arms resting by your sides.
Slide one heel up toward your bottom until that knee is bent and the foot is flat on the bed. You push from this side and turn toward the straight leg.
Press down through the bent leg's foot so that hip lifts off the bed and your pelvis turns toward the straight leg.
Hold for a few seconds with easy breathing, then lower the hip back down with control.
Slide the leg down straight again. Repeat, and practice with the other leg as well if your physio wants you to roll both ways.

What you should feel

Work in the buttock and the back of the thigh on the bent-leg side, with a gentle turn through your lower trunk. It should feel controlled rather than like a fling.

Common mistakes

Throwing the whole body over in one go instead of letting the hip lead.
Starting near the edge of the bed, with no room to turn onto your side.
Lifting the head and shoulders first and dragging the hips after them.
Letting the bent knee flop outward, so the push goes nowhere.

How often

Many programs practice 5 to 10 hip lifts toward each side you plan to roll to, once or twice a day, holding each for a few seconds. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp pain in your back or hip, or pain that builds with each lift.
The shoulder of a weak arm hurts, or the arm gets caught under you as you turn.
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

These are general steps for the start of a roll, not a stroke rehab program. When one side of your body is weak after a stroke or another condition, your physio or occupational therapist will set up the movement with you and say whether someone should help. If one arm is weak, it can be left behind or trapped under you as you turn, so your therapist will show you where to put it before you roll. Nobody helping you should turn you by pulling on that arm. For the full turn, where shoulders and hips move as one, see the log roll out of bed.

If you have had a hip replacement, get the go-ahead from your surgeon or physio before you try rolling onto your side in bed. As the pelvis turns, the bent knee can drift in across the middle of your body while the hip turns inward, and many surgeons ask you to avoid that for the first months after some operations. Your surgical team may ask you to keep a pillow between your knees whenever you turn. If you are pregnant and past the first three months, check with your physio before exercising flat on your back.

Before you start, make sure there is plenty of bed on the side you are turning toward, and that any wheels are locked. While you are still learning, practice with someone in the room, and keep a light on at night. If the room spins when you roll over in bed, stop and keep still, and follow the dizziness stop sign above for when to get advice. The dizziness and BPPV page explains one common cause.

The first few tries often feel awkward. 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.

Rolling onto your side in bed