“The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” is a common saying, but are tall people actually more likely to get injured from falling than short people?
Of course being tall means that you fall from a greater distance and with more mass, and so, therefore, more force.
That might not actually mean you are more likely to get injured if your body is built tougher. Maybe your bones are denser and your skin is thicker.
This not particularly scientific article seems to support that claim, but I don’t know what actual evidence it’s based on.
I am skinny and tall (6’) and I do get injured falling. I think I am klutzy-er than the average height woman, maybe because my legs are longer. I don’t think being further from the ground makes it any worse, though. I also bang my head on crap more. It’s a bitch being tall, I tells you.
I doubt the reaction time could be much different though.
TOTAL GUESS:
Longer bones are (slightly) more likely to break than shorter ones (due to leverage). In a large enough sample, that difference might be significant (in the statistical sense).
One thing I can tell you for sure is that tall people are more likely to bang their heads on low-hanging light fixtures, door-closers, signs, and such than short folks.
As a tall guy, I think we are more likely to twist ankles and knees. Longer bones, bigger feet can produce more leverage. It certainly seems that way for myself. I have long legs, and size 13 feet.
Banged my head on a ceiling fan light fixture standing up from a chair this morning…surprised me; usually I’m pretty good about taking stock of that type of thing and more or less instinctively avoiding them.
I don’t fall regularly. The few times I remember really falling remotely recently were on trail runs where I tripped on a rock or root or something.
Lots of times I recover without hitting the ground. The three times I really bit it, I got bloody scrapes, ripped fingernails, gouged knees, shredded forearms.
But even with the chance of a fall like that resulting in a broken finger, wrist, rib, or collarbone, I’ve so far gotten up and run off.
That’s my anecdote, which is also my sole data point and my cite.
My ex boss was 6’9" tall 170# and wore a size 7 1/2 shoe. The poor guy took more spills than anyone I have ever seen in my life. I can’t say I ever saw him get any real injuries thank God.
I have decided after reading here that maybe I don’t get injured (as much) in my clumsiness is I am able to catch myself with my long arms,being because I have more time going down to plan a save. YMMV.
Man, he must have looked like a Walking Stick.
Well, at the other extreme, babies are almost never hurt by falls.
I have to say that those feet sound disproportionately small, as if they’d have trouble supporting him. My brother who is 5’4" wears a 7 1/2 shoe and I would have expected a 6’9" guy to wear a size like 17 1/2.
Yeah, I’m just under 6’, and I wear an 11 at least.