Bed Mobility & Sleep Guides for Stroke Recovery

After a stroke, one side of your body may not respond the way it used to — or at all. Turning in bed, which used to happen unconsciously, now requires your stronger side to do the work for both. You might find yourself stuck on your back, unable to initiate the roll because the affected arm or leg won’t push off, or you start the turn and the weak side trails behind like dead weight. If you’re in early recovery, someone may be turning you. If you’re further along, you may be managing alone but spending enormous effort on what used to be nothing.

The mechanical challenge is asymmetry. A normal bed turn is a coordinated bilateral movement — both arms, both legs, both sides of the trunk working together. With hemiplegia or hemiparesis, one side is either absent from the movement or contributing unpredictably. The affected arm can get trapped under your body mid-turn. The affected leg may not bend on command, so it acts as an anchor that blocks the roll. And reduced trunk control on the weak side means your body doesn’t rotate as a unit — the strong side moves and the weak side lags, leaving you stuck partway.

The guides here teach specific techniques for turning toward and away from your affected side, how to position the weak arm before you start so it doesn’t get trapped, and how to use momentum and gravity to complete the turn when muscle power alone isn’t enough. They also cover bed-to-wheelchair and bed-to-standing transfers. If a caregiver is helping you, there are techniques here that make assisted turns safer and easier for both of you.