# Do tall people get injured more from falls? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 5, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-tall-people-get-injured-more-from-falls/811883 "2018-04-05T18:11:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Contemplation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-tall-people-get-injured-more-from-falls/811883/1 "2018-04-05T18:11:35Z")
“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. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-tall-people-get-injured-more-from-falls/811883/2 "2018-04-05T18:56:06Z")
[This not particularly scientific article](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/7-ways-heigh-affects-your-health_us_5783ad23e4b0344d51500c3d) seems to support that claim, but I don’t know what actual evidence it’s based on. > [@](#): > > Not only are tall people more injury-prone, but their injuries are often worse than those experienced by the shorter set. “Taller patients, when they take a fall, they’re going to go a lot further and … the impact will be higher,” [orthopedic surgeon Dr. Eric] Truumees says, noting that older tall people have higher rates of hip fracture. Some data suggests lanky people may also be crippled by slower reactions times, he adds, since their nerve impulses have farther to travel. Professional athletes, for one, know the consequences of this phenomenon all too well: Towering players, Truumees says, tend to have higher rates of injury and take longer to recover than their littler teammates. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-tall-people-get-injured-more-from-falls/811883/3 "2018-04-05T18:58:28Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Contemplation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-tall-people-get-injured-more-from-falls/811883/4 "2018-04-05T19:47:31Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > [This not particularly scientific article](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/7-ways-heigh-affects-your-health_us_5783ad23e4b0344d51500c3d) seems to support that claim, but I don’t know what actual evidence it’s based on. I doubt the reaction time could be much different though. ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-tall-people-get-injured-more-from-falls/811883/5 "2018-04-05T21:59:28Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-tall-people-get-injured-more-from-falls/811883/6 "2018-04-05T23:19:06Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-tall-people-get-injured-more-from-falls/811883/7 "2018-04-05T23:28:39Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-tall-people-get-injured-more-from-falls/811883/8 "2018-04-05T23:45:29Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > 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. 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. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-tall-people-get-injured-more-from-falls/811883/9 "2018-04-06T00:10:55Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-tall-people-get-injured-more-from-falls/811883/10 "2018-04-06T00:26:51Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-tall-people-get-injured-more-from-falls/811883/11 "2018-04-06T00:43:30Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > 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. Man, he must have looked like a [Walking Stick](http://www.riveredgenaturecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/walkingstick-5rz.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-tall-people-get-injured-more-from-falls/811883/12 "2018-04-06T01:03:47Z")
Well, at the other extreme, babies are almost never hurt by falls. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-tall-people-get-injured-more-from-falls/811883/13 "2018-04-06T07:56:52Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > 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 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. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-tall-people-get-injured-more-from-falls/811883/14 "2018-04-06T12:56:04Z")
Yeah, I’m just under 6’, and I wear an 11 at least.