Learn How to Fall Safely
Learning to fall safely sounds like a contradiction but it’s not. Daredevils and stunt men and women make us gasp when they jump and fall and walk away, unharmed, unfazed. We don’t have to do anything that dramatic but the tricks of the trade are there for us to use.
If you watched the Winter Olympics, you saw that falling is a big part of most of the events. Most of these young and well-trained athletes fall, some sloppily, some with good form, and some are wipeouts, but almost all of these athletes ski, skate, or walk away on their own. In a snowboard event, the rails can cause a fall or the hard-packed snow and unseen winds can combine to bring about a poor landing after a trick or a jump. The falls are hard. Most of us don’t put ourselves in that extreme position but there are simple tricks, easy-to-learn techniques that can protect us when we fall. Each of us will fall. It’s only a matter of time and circumstance. It’s a part of the human experience.
A perfect example of learned technique was at the start of the cross-country skiathon where there was a crash at the start of the race involving the favored Norwegian skier, S.H. Kruger, causing him to lose 40 seconds and to break one of his ski poles. He got up, extracted himself from several fellow skiers, borrowed a pole from a fan, and won the 30-kilometer race! He knew how to fall, wasn’t hurt by the fall, and was able to get on with the job at hand, to win the race.
Almost 10,000 people are seen in emergency rooms every day across the US because of sports related injuries*. Many injuries are because of falling, and more specifically, from using an improper falling technique. Almost 5,000 people over the age of 65 were treated in emergency rooms every day as a result of a fall*. These are not the same people. These are not athletes, not sports people but just older folks who could benefit greatly from knowing how to fall. *(Center for Disease Control, 2016)
Learning to fall well may prevent painful, often serious injuries. There are general principles as well as more specific guidelines to sport activities that you will find interesting and effective. It makes no difference if you are older or in your teens. Everyone falls. Toddlers fall all the time. It’s how they learn to walk, to balance, to explore, and so we accept it at their age. Most importantly, they know how to fall, right on their bottoms, often padded even more with a diaper. Adults can learn from these little ones.
It’s not a good idea but we all run for a train, a subway, or a bus. As if it were a reprimand, somehow the sidewalk dips, cracks, rolls, or reaches up and grabs our feet. Down we go. Not only do we miss the train but also we often wind up hurt, breaking a bone or suffering a serious cut.
Here are some important tips that you can follow yourself and even teach others:
Stay Bent Over. Crouch down if you feel yourself losing your balance. You won’t have as far to fall. A crouch enables you to roll and protect yourself.
Keep Arms & Knees Bent. Fall with bent elbows and bent knees. It shortens the distance and saves broken wrists and elbows.
Land on Big Muscles. Land on your butt, the muscles of your back, or your thighs. Don’t catch yourself with your hands when you fall. Instead, roll and try to land on the meaty parts.
Keep Falling. Relax your body rather than stiffening up. Roll up into a ball. Keep the rolling going. Spread the impact out. The more you roll with the fall, the safer.
Protect Your Head. If you are falling forward, turn your head to the side. Roll to that side. Avoid a face plant. If you are falling backward, tuck your chin to your chest, roll, and try to land on your thighs and butt.
This section is for the more adventurous of our readers but the techniques can be modified to fit everyone. Have you heard of Parkour? It is also called “freerunning”. It started out as a military discipline in France, essentially an obstacle course with climbing, running, jumping, and balancing through a range of environments. Parkour requires learning how to fall safely. One such technique is called Parkour Ukemi.
Ukemi is a Japanese name that means literally “receiving through the body”. Martial arts are not my sport but friends tell me Ukemi refers to “the art of falling” on different types of hard surfaces. This is worth learning for all of us.
The teaching of falling safely is a useful tool for any sport, age group, or lifestyle. Parkour Ukemi teaches a basic beginner roll, called the “Triangle to Back Method” that helps to prevent injuries to the neck, spine, shoulder, and wrist. This is a low-impact modified version of the roll that we see the gymnasts do in the Olympics.
The basic points of the Triangle to Back Roll are:
Relax & Tuck– I know it sounds impossible to relax, but if you stiffen up, the chances of your getting hurt go way up. Tuck your chin in and look at your stomach.
Reach Out to the Side – Instead of reaching straight out in front, reach out slightly to the side and in front, moving your arms to the side that you intend to roll towards.
Put Palms Down Flat– Put your hands flat down creating a triangle shape by touching together the index fingers and thumbs from both hands. This creates a position that makes your elbows bend and your arms absorb the impact.
Tuck Your Shoulder In– Whatever shoulder you chose to start your roll with, turn it inwards to avoid putting the hard impact directly on top of the shoulder. This tuck can avoid a broken shoulder or collarbone.
Roll Diagonally Across Your Spine– Instead of rolling from your neck straight down your spine and banging every vertebra, tuck your shoulder in and roll from your shoulder on a diagonal across your spine to your hip.
Practice Rolling Onto Both Sides – Practice using both sides in preparation for a realistic fall.
There’s usually not time to “think” before you fall. But if you remember to crouch down when you slip or if you feel that you are falling, that simple crouch can help you avoid serious injury. Remembering is an end product of practice. Practice these moves and you will remember them when the time comes. If you can learn and practice just one of these tips, it can make the difference between broken bones and a slight embarrassment.
At BodyFix Method™, we teach balance and how to fall safely to almost all of our clients, to some because they ask for our help after falling and to some who are pro-active, those who don’t want to hurt themselves when they do fall. Just helping them find good alignment will help them discover their own balance.
We teach balance training and how-to-fall in small classes over weekends almost every month. Just call. If we have three people of any age who are interested in a hands-on balance and how-to-fall class, we’ll be there to show you how to Learn How to Fall Safely.