First, condolences and best wishes to Qadop on the event of his recent fall and injury.
Second, what sort of training can one do to prevent falls and minimize injury in the event of a fall? Balance exercises, yoga, etc., I presume, help. Not so sure Judo-type breakfalls are much help, but perhaps they are? Thoughts? Experiences?
I fell down this very morning. Really. First time in 6-ish months. Approaching age 65.
Highly polished marble floor in a hotel and unnoticed water spilled on it outside the restaurant. As I was leaving dragging my suitcase & laptop bag then suddenly feet went in unexpected directions. Oops. No damage as I impacted on butt, hip, shoulder. You can train to fall smartly. See
I’ve not yet reviewed QtM’s post, so this is speaking in generalities, not to his scenario in specific …
From dealing with my late aged MIL who fell often in her later years, falling comes mostly from not paying attention to what you’re doing, plus a “what, me worry?” attitude. Her falls were fully self-induced inattention & reckless behavior, not tripping over obstacles or slipping on slippery floors.
As an oldster, IMO one can probably avoid, or cause, 9 of 10 falls this way. The last 1 that’s inevitable can be ameliorated with via judo / falling skills.
But the real value is prevention that comes from being in the moment rather than preoccupied, being aware of the surface characteristics, and being religious about having a good grip on a supportive thingy whenever you’re reaching or not perfectly upright… And not reaching in awkward ways to awkward limits.
Funny, but last night pre-bed I was reliving a real convo I had with late aged MIL ~15 years ago when she was leaning on something that could not possibly have provided the slightest support if she actually began to fall. She loudly asserted it provided her with “stability” and I said it provided her with the illusion of stability.
Knowing the difference between real and illusory stability and insisting on the former and never the latter seems to me to be a prereq for safe aging. MIL never had a life-altering fall, but she came damn close far too many times. Most of which where fully avoidable IMO. Don’t do that.
I read a thought-provoking book on successful aging a decade+ ago. One of his many advices was to practice standing on one foot with eyes closed. Do that 20-30 seconds at a crack and every day, once on each foot. Work up to it as necessary if that’s difficult. His contention was that would pay great dividends in both strength and skill in avoiding the worst of the avoidable falls. IANA expert, but I think he’s right.
Balance helps prevent falls. Exercise, especially strength training, also helps prevent the fall AND prevent injury by stronger bones, tendons, and ligaments, and more meat to absorb and diffuse.
Below is a link of how to fall better though. I quibble with the order. First to me is keep head up at all costs. Then the keep bent and loose not stiff. Try to roll. QtM hurt his shoulder which is not good. But brain was okay. That’s the key.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had a few concussions last season, and has said that he spent the offseason learning to fall.
How did he do it? He studied martial arts.
It is to me also (MVA>TBI>impaired balance>secondary concussions/TBIs). Anecdotally I read that for the elderly who may not be up to martial arts training, yoga and tai chi promote better balance. For me it was the tincture of time while doing weekly PT focused on balance and fall prevention. Almost 2 years of PT.
The PT also emphasized prevention such as no rugs or runners, no electrical cords anywhere near pathways and he was death about wearing only sensible, secure footwear (no slips ons, Crocs, high heels, etc), house slippers needed to be non-slip and secure, barefoot was ok, stocking feet were not. Fashion needed to give way to sentience and survival.
I live in the upper Midwest and for several winters I always used a cane when walking outside if there was any ice or snow. Again, survival over vanity. As @LSLGuy said, pay attention to what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. Don’t multi-task when walking or have your head in the clouds. I’m not sure what percentage of life altering or life ending falls happen in homes, but it’s shockingly high, so really, really pay attention at home. Safety proof your house and your footwear.
Physical therapists are the professionals to go to improve balance, prevent falls and learn how to fall.
And for gosh sake’s, eliminate any animals small enough to trip over or aggressive enough to push you down. Small dogs & cats kill a huge fraction of 80yo people, simply by being obliviously underfoot until the human trips over them to their death / permanent infirmity. Really; one of the most dangerous things a 75+yo can do is own a small quadruped. They are pure disability in a cute package.
A 3-foot tall 80lb dog is vastly safer than a cat or cat-sized dog, provided it’s behaved enough not to jump & knock you over.
Does anyone have a cite to QtM’s post about his fall; I’m not finding it?
I know that in Judo and Aikido, before any real technique is taught, “learning to fall” is primary and taught. Jumbi Undo and otherwise.
As a haphhazard drunkard, I find myself staggering, and tripping on something and crashing down about once every two years.
My preferred method is “Ass over Teakettle”.
Thanks. Ouch!!
I’ve taken the IPMBA bike class/certification. One of the modules is falling techniques. Let me tell you, it’s extremely hard to a) intentionally fall/crash your bike & b) not stick an arm/hand out to break your fall. The technique is to keep your hands on the handlebars & roll, essentially like the PLF that @LSLGuy linked to in the first reply.
If your whole body absorbs a little impact no one part absorbs a lot & you walk away with cuts & scrapes & bangs & bruises rather than fractures. It’s definitely not instinct & needs to be learned & practiced until it becomes muscle memory & then occasionally refreshed so you don’t lose said skill, whether skydiving, cycling, or just on foot.
There are balance exercises you can do. Basically, shut your eyes and balance on one foot. it is a lot harder than one thinks, but will improve with practice.
NY Times: Balance Exercises to Improve Your Strength - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Honestly my bike falls have been easy. Head up head up head up
Flipped once. Landed on my back. Separated an AC (shoulder) 3 weeks better.
Skidded out. Head head head up. That time landed on thighs. Hurt like hell. Days later the bruise, ugly big thing, showed up. Ten days later better.
On a bike I’m curved to start.
It’s tripping running that the hand wants to out that makes me worry.
I’ve been in tai chi for over 5 years now. I started at the Rec center but moved to the real king Fu school about 3 years ago. I’m only 44 but the rest of the people in the class are 65-90 (yes 90).
I highly highly highly recommend tai chi for anyone wanting to improve their balance (and their overall health to be honest). Like @DSeid said balance is the most important step in preventing falls. We spend hours and hours “learning” how to step, how to walk, how to turn, how to center our bodies over our feet.
My posture is SO good. My balance is unbelievable. You should see these elderly people standing on one foot, too. And I’m talking people of every size and shape. It’s the best exercise you can do when standing in a 4’x4’ space.
And yes at the king fu school, where there are mats, we do actually learn how to fall properly. The tuck and roll stuff. But they don’t do that at the Rec center.
But even without that, tai chi will definitely keep you upright.
Back in college jumped off my motorcycle on the freeway doing 70ish mph.
Hands in, head up, rolled and flipped and etc. Worked out fine. Some skill & some luck. Takes both to win the war.
I wrestled throughout my youth and that taught me how to fall. A few weeks ago I caught the edge of my neighbor’s driveway while on my evening stroll and took a tumble. I was able to absorb some of the impact with my hands without locking my arms and breaking any bones. I just walked away with some scraped palms and one scraped knee but no serious injuries.
It doesn’t work all the time. I took a really nasty tumble in my late twenties and didn’t land at all safely. As I lay on the ground in the middle of the night it occurred to me that I was fortunate that we have wiped out most of the large predators in the United States because I was a sitting duck. And now that I think about it, I might need to stop walking at night.
That sounds like a crazy thing to do.
The biggest obstacle that you’re going to have while falling is reflexes and muscle memory. Which is only developed by, get this, falling. Martial arts, dirt biking, para-whatever, wrestling, parkour. By the time you need to be concerned with falling, you’re likely too old to indulge in these activities. Your muscle memory was tuned while you were young and durable. Now that you’re more fragile that’s going to work against you.
Maybe some tai-chi or some other low impact martial art to reprogram your fall reflexes?
As someone who falls catastrophically, tippling, hard as a redwood at my age and physiology. I have found that falling backward is much less deleterious than falling forward. If you can shift, or alter your momentum in any way, it is better than falling head first.
I was a bit too shorthand there while trying to make the post about the fall, not the cause of the fall.
A more complete description would have been
Back in college I was involuntarily catapulted off my motorcycle after hitting road debris on the freeway doing 70ish mph.
Better?