Proper Falling is more than just “Tuck & Roll”

PROPER FALLING IS MORE THAN JUST “TUCK & ROLL”

As we seniors age, falls become more common. If we’re lucky, we bounce back up. If not, a fall can mean a concussion, a broken bone, or even a fractured hip—injuries that can lead to hospitalization and long-term consequences

I’ve posted a couple of times about fall prevention (see Fall Prevention—Tales & Tips and  Fear of Falling). But I haven’t written about what to do in the moment you realize you’re going down. As a kid, I was taught to “tuck and roll”—tuck your chin and roll with the momentum to spread out the impact. But it turns out there’s more to proper falling than just that.

Knowing that one of these days I’ll fall again, I looked for more complete advice on how to avoid serious injury. Well, just today (March 22), I came across a helpful online wikiHow article co-authored by Justin Barnes, Senior Home Care Specialist, titled How to Fall Safely.  Here are key excerpts:

Falling Properly

Falling can pose a serious risk of injury, even if it is only from a standing height. Depending on your age, health and fitness levels, the severity of those injuries can vary. However, there are a few techniques that anyone can use if they find themselves falling to help reduce the impact and prevent injury.

Protect your head. The most important body part that you need to protect in a fall is your head. Head injuries can be very serious, even deadly. Make sure you prioritize protecting your head as you fall by properly positioning it.

• Tuck your chin down, lowering your head.
• If falling down, face first, turn your head to the side.
• Bring your arms up to head level for additional protection. Put them in front of your head if falling forwards or behind your head if falling backwards.

 

Turn as you fall. If you are falling either straight forward or straight backwards, try to turn your body so you land on your side. Falling directly on your back can cause serious injury to it. A frontal fall can cause damage to the head, face, and arms. By landing on your side you can reduce the chance of injury from high distances (for example, one way vertical paths).

Keep arms and legs bent. It may be tempting to try and catch yourself fully as you fall with your arms. However, landing with your arms straight out and absorbing the full force of the fall with them can cause injury. Try keeping both arms and legs slightly bent as you fall.^[4]

• Landing fully on your arms in an attempt to catch yourself can break both your wrists and arms.

 

Stay loose. Tensing up during a fall can increase the chances of sustaining an injury. The tension in your body won’t allow for the absorption of force from the fall. Instead of spreading the impact out over a flexible body, the parts that were kept taut are more likely to break instead of going with the motion. [Fall like a sack of beans—relax everything.]

Roll out of the impact. If you are able, a good technique to dissipate the force of a fall is to roll into it. By rolling, you send the energy of the fall into the roll, rather than having your body absorb the impact. A big part of falling safely is to spread out the force of the impact over a large area of your body. Falling on a single point will result in that area taking most of the damage. By spreading out the impact, you reduce the chance of serious injury to a single part of the body