While we're enjoying Fall, do you know how to fall correctly so you don't injure yourself?

[Anonymous]

Some huge percent of deaths in older people are caused by or set it motion by falls, and young people are also at risk of permanent injuries or death.

Here's a chart to print out and hang somewhere to you remember how to fall with as little risk of injury as possible. Give it to the old people you know.

I wish it also included information about how to fall on stairs, I'll see if I can find that somewhere.

[Lliam]

Interesting fact. Twice as many people in the U. S. die from accidental falls than by total firearm homicides.

I've always had an innate ability to land right when I have fallen. I have fallen really hard quite a few times in my life while doing crazy shit on bicycles, street skates, skateboards, climbing stuff, etc. and never broken a bone.

The instructions in you're tutorial were right on the money.

In my late 20s, I was roller skating in a park with some friends. One of the girls fell, tried to brace her fall with her arm, and broke her wrist.

The scariest incident for me was in my early 30s, when my cousin had two 3-wheel ATVs and invited me to a place in the desert where people went to ride. We got there at dusk and he took me to a steep hill with a horse shoe turn at the bottom. You rode up the hill and turned sharply to come down the same way you went up, and slowed yourself by going around the banked horse show.
I watched him do it and it looked fun.
When I tried it, I went up but it was too dark to see the way down and I failed to do an exact 180 to come straight down.
Near the bottom, I saw piles of boulders in front of me. I put on the brakes, but there was no way to stop on that steep hill, and no way to turn on that 3 wheeler.
I wound up slamming into the boulders and, rather than bracing my arms, allowed myself to fly over the handle bars. I sort of somersaulted, rolled my body to keep from going face first, and hit the boulders with the back of my shoulder, side and legs.
The wind was completely knocked out of me. I wasn't sure if anything was broken until I was finally able to gather myself and move my arms and legs.
In the following days, I was bruised all over and might have had some cracked ribs, but at least I wasn't mutilated and my head wasn't bashed in.

My most recent fall was several years ago. There was a nest of paper wasps under the eve at the peak of our roof. I got a really long piece of PVC and tried to reach it from the side my porch. I couldn't quite reach it, so I got a step stool to climb over the railing. I was going to hold onto the outside of the railing and lean out.
But once I got on the stool, I thought the extra height would allow me to reach the nest.
I stood on the stool, leaned against the railing and reached as far as I could.
All of a sudden, the stool shot out from under me. I landed on the railing but my center of gravity was over the edge and I did a flip over the rail, which is 8' above the ground.
I managed to twist my body to land on my back and left shoulder instead of landing on my face and stomach.
It knocked the wind out of me for a minute. I wound up bruising my shoulder but was otherwise okay.

[nolabels]

First, thank you for your question and information.
I hope that it can help someone.

I'm 67.
I've taken bad falls twice in the past two years, severely injuring first the right, then the left rotator cuff.

My orthopedic surgeon says that due to my other illnesses and generally poor condition, although I appear healthy and strong enough to the average person, I'm not a candidate for surgical repair of my rotator cuffs.

I tried babying them for as long as I could, but life circumstances have demanded that I push my shoulders far past the extent that I should, but I must.
There's no two ways about it.
They continue to worsen.

Previous to my having had COVID, badly, four separate times, I'd never have considered that I could have possibly fallen in the ways that I did.
Among other frailties, COVID knocked the snot out of my body's ability to maintain good balance.

Knowing how to fall, which I was still largely successful in doing, didn't help in my case.

Infirmity, illness and injury didn't text or call me before they arrived, they bashed my door down with a battering ram.

C'est la vie.

Cheers to you!

[Screenwriter]

Very good information, and I always think of falling on my butt, which I've done many times.

But if you're experiencing an inadvertent fall, the shock of it more than likely means you are not thinking about the "how" of a safe fall. Maybe if they had classes in safe falling, people would get enough "practice" that this would become natural!

[purplepoppy]

The thing with falling is it happens extremely quickly and there's usually an accompanying shock that caused the fall. Even if you know the correct way most people will just react instinctively. Arm breaks are very common in car crashes because people instinctively extend their arm to stop the on coming car.

[ohsheeT]

I think that's a great idea so older people can see it everyday and hopefully they remember as it's happening.

I've seen older people fall and they dont even try to save themselves. And they hit hard.

But I think that's because they dont use the muscles anymore to tuck an roll

[ohsheeT]

Nice cookies

[AviatorTom]

Yes I do. I've fallen a few times in my life and have never injured myself, except for a few minor bruises that quickly heal.. I'm not sure how I learned to fall properly, it seems to be more instinct. For example, I don't try to break my fall with my hands, that's how you break your wrist. And I roll to dissipate the energy when I fall.

[AngryCarl2]

Cool. I fall on my ass.

[Genie23]

Thank you for sharing. I'll share it with others. And those leaf cookies got me hungry, lol

[Asker]

Panera has good autumn cookies that taste like old fashioned Christmas sugar cookies.

[Genie23]

Yummm! Can't wait to try theme 🤤

[BadApple69]

Very nice and meaningful PSA.


Now to answer your question… yes I know how to fall. Many years of taking Judo (where you are going to get thrown) first teaches you how to land (or fall).

[beenherebefore]

No. I've fell a few times and although I never broke anything I always end up hurting myself. Last time I fell I hit my back in every single step of the stairs.

[DryGermanGuy]

I think we instinctively protect our head/face, when falling. I got my fair share of bruises on all four limbs, though. 🤕

[exitseven]

do not put your hands out to break your fall.

[Iron_Man]

Try to keep head up when you fall. Try to land on your forearms the bottom part. Be careful of your hips.

[AgentG111]

That's an interesting question with a follow up. Also that's one way to fall, there are a few others if able provide better ability to slow your decent and stop other injuries.

[AngryCarl2]

If I knew I was going to fall I wouldn't do it.

[Flower7]

Good point lol

[Anonymous]

Yes, from some martial arts like Aikido, Judo, Hapkido, Shuai Jiao, Jiu-Jitsu, and some others.

[guesswhereivebeen]

I’ll say about half the time… I’ve been drunk before and flat out ate shit

[Flower7]

Thanks for the information.

[Unycorn]

No. That is great! Thank you!

[Jennz6]

Very interesting

[Alex-Snow]

Thanks for sharing