I know it sounds like a dumb question. Perhaps it would be better to ask, “How do I make the best of a bad situation?”
I jog almost every day. When I encounter ice or uneven pavement, I always lean forward a little. That way, I’ll fall *forward * in the event I slip and fall. I always figured it was better to fall forward, as my hands would break the fall. Not only that, but falling backwards could break my tailbone.
So it December it happened… I was running on a slippery road and fell. As “planned,” I fell forward. The palm of my left hand hit the ground first. My wrist is *still * aching. I think I might have ripped a tendon.
So now I’m rethinking my strategy. In the event I find myself falling while jogging, maybe I should fall backwards instead of forwards?
So all else being equal, is it better to fall forwards or backwards?
I’ll bet you tried to support your weight at impact. Wrists fare better if you let the elbows bend, and roll with the off vertical component of the fall.
It’s less dignified looking, but less painful too.
When you fall backward, you risk not only your butt, but your head as well.
If it’s ice, try for backwards. I’ve only ever fallen forward on ice once and that was odd, so I’m not sure how you managed it. For backwards, try for a quarter-turn on your butt and try to slide on that (i.e., keep up) or you might cut your back or legs. The other day everything was iced over and I fell twice, very odd, but just slid a bit, flipped around, and went along no worse for it. For forwards, which would usually happen on trails, don’t fight any loss of footing at all (falling into a deep hole and trying to run on can give you a serious injury) and fall that side with your forearm and then upper shin striking. Never ever land on your hands.
If I know that I’m going to fall I’d go for on my back. I can do a pretty good breakfall in a variety of directions (and it’s saved me from injury several times), take some judo and you’ll learn to be comfortable falling forward, backward and sideways.
You can take a lot of impact on your back if you know what you’re doing. Falling straight forward is IMHO harder than falling backwards however you have the advantage of being able to see where you are going.
As you discovered, don’t try and catch your fall on an outstretched arm, that’s a great way to get some nasty sprains and breaks. If you are jogging forward and you trip the “best” fall would be a forward shoulder roll - it’s not a hard impact, protects your head and front, puts the impact on your back and one leg. You need to know how to do it and you’ll look absolutely silly executing it on the pavement but if it saves you a busted wrist, good on you.
I live in an ice and snow filled environment where NOTHING is flat.
I have taken a few falls. The ones that get you, and get you good are those that you don’t expect. Of course.
The last time I fell I was just walking on some ice in my driveway. My feet went out from in front of me. I fell on my back. But in some instant, my body understood that it had to protect my head.
I fell back (no choice), I leaned forward and brought my chin down to my chest. It was automatic.
I did save my scull, but also had a bit of a sore neck for a week or so.
I try to just ball up and ‘roll’. Fall to my side. This does expose your shoulders to damage, but it works best for me.
One of the most common injuries from skiing and snowboarding are wrists and thumbs when people try to catch themselves.
When I’m walking the dogs on a slippery patch (glare ice is at the bottom of the drive), I do make sure that my hands are not in my coat pockets, but that is for balance, not to catch myself.
I have fallen enough that my instinct seems to be to cross my arms over my chest, ball up and try to twist as I’m going down.
Spreads out the impact area.
In re-reading your post……. I would not change your running stance when encountering an icy area. You are already at your best balance. I would focus more on foot placement, traction and the energy you are putting into your feet.
Maybe so, but the best falls also land on your shoulder. You just have to know how to roll with it the right way. I’ll second Valgard’s recommendation for martial arts training here: How to fall is about the only thing I still remember from my brown belt in kempo.
I do a lot of hiking on steep desert trails…running/jogging sometimes. While I don’t plan my falls, I have learned that it is best to go ahead and fall forward, but twist as you fall so that you land on a side/arm/shoulder and sort of “roll” with the fall.
Straight forward has resulted in far too many contusions, broken glasses, bruises, and so forth.
Second (third?) the recommendation to take martial arts classes. Judo or aikido will teach you a lot about how to fall without hurting yourself.
One of the most common injuries in active adults is a Colles’ fracture, which you get from doing basically what you did when you slipped the other day.
Tuesday was the first day of rugby season. Before we did any contact, we all practiced falling. “Knee, hip, shoulder,” is the order we’re taught. Trying to put out a hand to catch yourself is dangerous when you have twice your normal body weight falling to the ground. I second tucking the chin and rolling. Anytime you can transfer the vertical impact to a horizontal roll, that’s a good thing. Falling backwards is much more difficult to do properly, and one is more inclined to hurt the shoulder, elbows, or wrists in trying to break that type of fall.
I’ve taken quite a few spills off motorcycles, too. The most memorable one was when the clutch stuck, and then popped when I wasn’t expecting it. Too much power too fast, and I took off before I knew what was going on. Instead of hitting a car, I laid the bike down while jumping off the pegs. As I started coming down, I tucked my chin and basically did a sumersault in midair. Luckily had my helmet on, as it was pretty scraped up on the back! But tucking the chin, when appropriate, can prevent many injuries.
You should see your doctor to consider getting your wrist x-rayed. Speaking as a physician and as someone who had a wrist injury in high school that I didn’t have evaluated for 6 months. The scaphoid bone in the wrist is particularly susceptible to injury during a ‘fall on outstretched hand’ or FOOSH. Unfortunately, this bone has a poor blood supply and will not heal well if not immobilized. In my case I had to have surgery, bone graft, and screw placed. I was in a cast from thumb to elbow for 5 months.
Your instincts are usually going to win out when you fall forwards and your going to try to brace your fall with your hands and arms.
I used to skateboard when I was young and I repeatedly injured my wrists from falls. It sucked.
I however wised up and got some wrist guards that looked like these. Somehow they brace your wrists at a 45 degree angle wrather than you naturally bracing them at a 90 degree angle when you fall. Somehow that makes all the difference.
I fell multiple multiple times after that face first bracing with my hands and never sustained a wrist injury.
I’ll also second judo for learning how to fall. A judo breakfall saved me from likely breaking my wrists or nose when I tripped while running and took a facefirst dive on the concrete.
I learned how to fall years ago when I was in the military. Just curll up and roll sideways and you will always beat the fall. Recently, however, while walking with my wife and holding her hand, I tripped on something on the sidewalk (sidewalks here have a habit of reaching up to catch your foot, ha ha). Of course, holding my wifes hand didn’t help because she tried to hold me up. Holding me turned me to one side and my right hand instinctively reached out to stop the fall (mistake). When my hand hit the sidewalk, my two center fingers were bent backwards at 90° angle. This was 3 weeks ago and I still have pain in my right hand. My wife thinks she is doing me a favor by holding my hand, but actually, it is a hinderance if I should fall. She says that she does it because she loves me and because I am getting old. Go figure! All true, but I prefer to walk without holding anyones hand.
I’ll add that, if you practice it enough, you can even look stylish while doing it! Nothing impresses the bystanders more than rolling with a fall and popping back to your feet.
Seriously, though, the forward shoulder roll is probably your best bet. It converts your forward momentum into movement, rather than shockwaves that your body has to absorb (which is what you get if you try to ‘stop’ your fall with your hands/arms).
