How can you protect your head during a fall. What is the best way to position your body when falling. Why is staying loose important when you fall. How can rolling help reduce impact during a fall. What technique spreads out the force of impact when falling.

Protecting Your Head: The Most Critical Step in Fall Safety

When it comes to falling safely, protecting your head should be your top priority. Head injuries can have severe, even life-threatening consequences. Here are some crucial techniques to safeguard your head during a fall:

• Tuck your chin down to lower your head
• If falling face-first, turn your head to the side
• Bring your arms up to head level for additional protection
• Position arms in front of your head if falling forward, or behind your head if falling backward

Are you taking blood thinners or anticoagulants? If so, hitting your head during a fall could be particularly dangerous. Even a minor head impact could potentially cause life-threatening internal bleeding. In such cases, it’s crucial to contact your doctor immediately after a fall involving head impact. They may recommend going to the hospital for a CT scan to rule out any serious complications.

The Art of Turning: Minimizing Impact by Landing on Your Side

When you find yourself falling either straight forward or backward, your instinct might be to brace for impact. However, a more effective strategy is to try and turn your body mid-fall. Why is this important? Landing on your side can significantly reduce the risk of serious injury, especially when falling from greater heights.

Falling directly on your back can cause severe spinal injuries, while a frontal fall puts your head, face, and arms at high risk. By maneuvering your body to land on its side, you distribute the impact force more evenly, reducing the likelihood of severe trauma to any single area.

Technique for Turning Mid-Fall:

1. As you begin to fall, twist your torso towards either side
2. Tuck your chin to your chest to protect your head
3. Bend your elbows and knees slightly to absorb shock
4. Aim to land on the fleshy part of your side, rather than directly on your hip or shoulder

The Importance of Bent Limbs: Absorbing Shock to Prevent Injuries

When falling, it’s natural to want to catch yourself with outstretched arms. However, this instinct can lead to serious injuries. Instead, keeping your arms and legs slightly bent during a fall can significantly reduce the risk of harm. But why is this technique so effective?

Bent limbs act as natural shock absorbers, distributing the force of impact across joints and muscles rather than concentrating it on bones. This approach can help prevent fractures and sprains that commonly occur when people try to break their fall with straight arms or legs.

Key Points for Proper Limb Positioning:

• Keep elbows and knees slightly flexed, not locked
• Avoid fully extending your arms to catch yourself
• Allow your joints to bend upon impact to absorb shock
• Distribute the force across larger muscle groups rather than individual bones

By maintaining this flexible posture, you’re more likely to walk away from a fall with minor bruises rather than broken bones or torn ligaments.

The Power of Relaxation: Why Staying Loose Reduces Injury Risk

It might seem counterintuitive, but staying relaxed during a fall can significantly reduce your risk of injury. When your body is tense, it’s less able to absorb and distribute the impact of a fall effectively. But how exactly does staying loose help protect you?

A relaxed body is more flexible and adaptable to the sudden forces experienced during a fall. This flexibility allows your muscles and joints to move and bend with the impact, rather than resisting it. As a result, the force of the fall is spread out over a larger area and absorbed more gradually, reducing the likelihood of serious injury.

Techniques for Staying Relaxed During a Fall:

• Practice deep breathing exercises regularly to train your body to relax quickly
• As you fall, exhale slowly to help release tension in your muscles
• Focus on keeping your muscles loose rather than bracing for impact
• Visualize your body as fluid and flexible rather than rigid

Remember, the goal is to “go with the flow” of the fall rather than fighting against it. This approach can help you emerge from a fall with fewer injuries and less severe impacts.

Mastering the Art of Rolling: Dissipating Impact Through Motion

Rolling during a fall is an advanced technique that can significantly reduce the force of impact on your body. But how does rolling actually help, and how can you learn to do it effectively?

When you roll, you convert the downward force of the fall into forward motion. This distribution of energy means less force is absorbed by your body at the point of impact. Instead of coming to an abrupt stop, your body continues to move, spreading the force over time and distance.

Steps to Practice Rolling Safely:

1. Start in a low squat position
2. Lean forward and place your palms flat on the ground
3. Push off with your legs, shifting your weight forward
4. Tuck your chin and round your back as your legs go over your head
5. Aim to land on the back of your shoulder, not your neck or spine
6. Allow the momentum to carry you through the roll and back onto your feet

It’s crucial to practice this technique in a safe, padded environment before attempting it in real-world situations. With enough practice, rolling can become an instinctive response that could save you from serious injury during a fall.

Spreading the Force: Techniques for Distributing Impact

One of the most effective ways to reduce injury during a fall is to spread the force of impact over a larger area of your body. But why is this so important, and how can you achieve it?

When the force of a fall is concentrated on a small area, such as a single point of your body, that area absorbs all the energy of the impact. This concentration of force is what often leads to broken bones, sprains, or other serious injuries. By spreading the force over a larger surface area, you reduce the intensity of impact at any single point, thereby lowering the risk of severe injury.

Strategies for Spreading Impact Force:

• Aim to land on fleshy parts of your body rather than bony areas
• Try to make contact with the ground using as much of your body surface as possible
• If falling backward, tuck your chin and try to land across your back and shoulders, not just your tailbone
• When falling forward, use your forearms and palms to create a larger contact area rather than just your hands

By consciously thinking about distributing the force of impact, you can significantly reduce the severity of injuries sustained during a fall.

Understanding Fall Risks: Why Everyone is Vulnerable

Contrary to popular belief, fall risks are not limited to the elderly population. In fact, studies have shown that middle-aged adults are just as susceptible to falling. But what factors contribute to this unexpected vulnerability?

A study published in the Journal of Allied Health revealed that individuals aged 50-60 actually fall more frequently than older adults. This surprising statistic can be attributed to several factors:

• Increased activity levels among middle-aged adults
• Overestimation of physical capabilities
• Decreased awareness of age-related changes in balance and strength
• Engagement in more risky behaviors or activities

Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified falling as the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries across all age groups. This underscores the importance of fall prevention and safe falling techniques for everyone, regardless of age or perceived fitness level.

Key Statistics on Fall Risks:

• 50-60 year-olds fall more frequently than older adults
• Falls are the number one cause of traumatic brain injuries
• 1 in 4 older adults falls each year, but many falls go unreported
• Falls result in over 800,000 hospitalizations annually in the US

Given these statistics, it’s clear that fall safety is a crucial skill for everyone to develop, not just the elderly or infirm. By understanding your risk factors and practicing safe falling techniques, you can significantly reduce your chances of serious injury in the event of a fall.

Practical Fall Prevention: Strategies for Everyday Safety

While knowing how to fall safely is crucial, preventing falls in the first place should always be the primary goal. What practical steps can you take to reduce your risk of falling in everyday situations?

Fall prevention is a multifaceted approach that involves both environmental awareness and personal health management. By implementing these strategies, you can significantly decrease your chances of experiencing a fall:

Environmental Safety Measures:

• Keep your living space well-lit, especially stairways and hallways
• Remove clutter and tripping hazards from walkways
• Install handrails on both sides of staircases
• Use non-slip mats in bathrooms and kitchens
• Ensure outdoor walkways are clear of ice and snow in winter

Personal Health and Fitness Strategies:

• Engage in regular balance and strength training exercises
• Have your vision checked annually and keep prescriptions up-to-date
• Review medications with your doctor to identify those that may cause dizziness
• Wear properly fitting, supportive footwear
• Use assistive devices like canes or walkers if recommended by a healthcare professional

By combining these environmental and personal strategies, you create a comprehensive approach to fall prevention that can significantly reduce your risk of accidents.

The Psychology of Falling: Overcoming Fear and Building Confidence

The fear of falling can be just as debilitating as the fall itself, often leading to decreased activity and a lower quality of life. How can you overcome this fear and build confidence in your ability to navigate your environment safely?

Understanding and addressing the psychological aspects of falling is crucial for maintaining an active, independent lifestyle. Here are some strategies to help you build confidence and reduce fear:

Techniques for Building Fall Confidence:

• Practice fall prevention and safe falling techniques regularly
• Engage in activities that improve balance and coordination, like tai chi or yoga
• Gradually expose yourself to challenging environments in a controlled, safe manner
• Use positive self-talk to reinforce your capabilities and progress
• Seek support from friends, family, or a professional counselor if fear persists

Remember, confidence comes from preparation and practice. By actively working on your physical skills and mental attitude, you can reduce the fear of falling and maintain an active, fulfilling lifestyle.

The Impact of Fear on Fall Risk:

Interestingly, the fear of falling can actually increase your risk of experiencing a fall. This paradox occurs because fear often leads to:

• Reduced physical activity, leading to muscle weakness and poor balance
• Increased tension and stiffness in movement, making you less adaptable to changes in terrain
• Decreased confidence in navigating everyday environments
• Social isolation, which can contribute to overall health decline

By addressing and overcoming this fear, you not only improve your quality of life but also actively reduce your risk of falling.

Advanced Falling Techniques: Learning from Athletes and Stunt Performers

While basic falling safety is essential for everyone, there’s much we can learn from those who fall professionally. What advanced techniques do athletes and stunt performers use to protect themselves during falls?

Athletes and stunt performers undergo rigorous training to fall safely, often in high-risk situations. While their techniques may be more advanced, many principles can be adapted for everyday use:

Key Principles from Professional Fallers:

• Body awareness: Constantly knowing where your body is in space
• Reaction speed: Quickly assessing and responding to a fall situation
• Muscle memory: Training the body to react instinctively in a fall
• Controlled breathing: Using breath to stay calm and relaxed during a fall
• Progressive training: Starting with small falls and gradually increasing difficulty

While you may not need to perform stunts or compete in high-risk sports, incorporating elements of these principles into your fall safety practice can significantly enhance your ability to protect yourself in everyday situations.

Adapting Professional Techniques for Everyday Use:

1. Practice falling onto soft surfaces, gradually increasing height and complexity
2. Incorporate balance and proprioception exercises into your fitness routine
3. Learn and practice basic tumbling or rolling techniques
4. Use visualization techniques to mentally rehearse safe falling scenarios
5. Consider taking classes in martial arts that emphasize falling safely, like Judo or Aikido

Remember, the goal is not to become a stunt performer, but to adapt these advanced principles to enhance your everyday safety and confidence in movement.

Technology and Fall Prevention: Innovations in Personal Safety

As technology continues to advance, new tools and devices are emerging to help prevent falls and mitigate their consequences. What innovative solutions are available to enhance personal safety when it comes to falling?

From wearable devices to smart home systems, technology is playing an increasingly important role in fall prevention and response. Here are some cutting-edge innovations that are making a difference:

Wearable Fall Detection Devices:

• Smartwatches with built-in fall detection and emergency alert features
• Wearable airbags that deploy to protect hips during a fall
• Smart shoes that improve balance and provide haptic feedback
• Clothing with integrated sensors to detect changes in gait or posture

Smart Home Technologies:

• Motion-activated lighting systems to illuminate pathways at night
• Voice-controlled home automation for hands-free operation of devices
• Floor sensors that can detect falls and alert emergency services
• Smart cameras with AI capabilities to recognize potential fall risks

While these technologies can significantly enhance safety, it’s important to remember that they should complement, not replace, traditional fall prevention strategies and safe falling techniques.

Emerging Research and Future Innovations:

Researchers and engineers are continuously working on new ways to prevent falls and reduce injuries. Some exciting areas of development include:

• Exoskeletons to support mobility and prevent falls in older adults
• Virtual reality training programs for improving balance and coordination
• Predictive AI models that can identify fall risks before they occur
• Advanced materials for creating more impact-resistant flooring and furniture

As these technologies continue to evolve, they promise to provide even more tools for enhancing personal safety and independence, particularly for those at higher risk of falling.

Do you know how to fall SAFELY? 6 steps for personal protection.

Fall protection is often stressed, we’re always looking to avoid falls; but have you ever thought about what to do when you can’t avoid the fall?  The following 6 steps will help reduce injury as you slip, slide, or fall.

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 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.
• If you are taking anticoagulants or blood thinners and fall and hit your head, this may result in a dangerous and life-threatening bleed inside your skull. Call your doctor, who may tell you to go to the hospital for a CT scan.

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.^[3]

• 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 taught are more likely to break instead of going with the motion.

• You can try breathing out as you fall to help keep your body relaxed.

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. Since the technique is difficult, you may want to practice falling and rolling at a gym or somewhere with padded and cushioned floors.

• Start in a low squat position.
• Lean forward and place your palms flat on the ground in front of you.
• Push off the ground with your legs and move your weight forwards.
• Your legs will go over your head.
• Keep your back rounded and gently try to land on a shoulder.
• Let the momentum carry you through the roll and back up onto your feet.

Spread out the force of the fall. 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.

For more tips on how to fall safely click here.

More Insight & Tips

More Insight

How To Fall To Prevent Injury

Michael Zimmerman

Published

November 28, 2017

It was nearly 30 years ago that Mrs. Fletcher from the LifeCall commercials first uttered her plaintive cry: “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!” 

Back then, it was campy and funny. But in the intervening years, chances are that you, and perhaps some of your loved ones, have taken some nasty spills. It’s not just the elderly, though, who end up on the ground. 

STEVE SANFORD

A study in the Journal of Allied Health showed that 50- to 60-year-olds fall more than older folks. We’re more active, and that puts us more at risk of falling. Also, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that people are more likely to suffer a traumatic brain injury from falling than from any other cause. 

STEVE SANFORD

And we’re all going to fall down: The world is full of banana peels. So while avoiding a fall is job one, knowing how to take a fall when it’s inevitable is a crucial skill.

STEVE SANFORD

“Be smooth, don’t panic, stay loose,” says Alexa Marcigliano, who is really good at falling down. A professional stuntwoman, she’s taken serious spills in shows such as Orange Is the New Black and Blindspot. Here’s her four-point plan for a safe crash landing.

Step 1: Stay bent 

The moment you sense you’ve lost your balance, get ready to fall with bent elbows and knees. “When people panic, they become rigid,” Marcigliano says. “In the stunt world, we never reach out with locked arms. Bend your elbows and have some give in your arms to soften the impact.” When you’re rigid, you’re more likely to suffer a set of injuries called FOOSH — doctor speak for “Fall on outstretched hand.” The result is often a broken wrist or elbow.

Step 2: Protect your head

If you’re falling forward, be sure to turn your face to the side. Falling backward? “Tuck your chin to your chest so your head doesn’t hit the ground,” Marcigliano advises.

Step 3: Land on the meat

“One of the things we try for in stunt falls is landing on meaty parts of your body — the muscles in your back, butt or thighs. Not bone.” If you keep your knees and elbows bent and look to land on muscle, you’ll be less likely to crack your elbows, knees, tailbone or hips.

Step 4: Keep falling

Your instinct will be to stop your body as quickly as you can. But your safest route is to keep rolling — indeed, the more you give in to the fall, the safer it will be. “Spread the impact across a larger part of your body; don’t concentrate impact on one area,” Marcigliano says. The more you roll with the fall, the safer you will be.

Advanced trick

“In stunts, we do something called slapping out,” Marcigliano notes. “As you fall, let your body roll, and extend your arm palm-down, to slap the ground and stop yourself.

Before the fall

While you can’t prevent all slips, there’s plenty you can do to improve your footing.

• Be here now. Practice “mindfulness” — focus on the present and be aware of your surroundings, instead of being lost in your thoughts.  
• Fix your blind spots. If you can’t see it, you can’t avoid tripping over it. Have your eyesight and eyeglasses checked regularly.
• Boost your balance. Stand with your feet together. Raise one foot an inch; hold for 30 seconds. Do this for 10 reps. Repeat with your other foot.

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Fall right! Traumatologists remind safety rules in ice | Tips | HEALTH

03/31/2022 2:02 pm

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

122

Ekaterina Saenko / AiF

Traumatologists of the Territorial Center for Disaster Medicine of the Sverdlovsk Region annually provide assistance to over 200 patients with injuries. Most of them are from road accidents and other emergencies – victims do not have time to take any action to reduce injuries. But there are situations, such as ice, when the impact force can be reduced by properly preparing for the fall.

Current advice is given by TCMC traumatologists Sergey Popov and Alexey Melnichenko.

“The first thing we would like to focus the attention of Sverdlovsk residents in the off-season (when the temperature passes through zero degrees during the day, transforming the sidewalk into a skating rink) is the right choice of shoes. It is necessary to abandon high heels and flat soles: this seemingly simple advice is often neglected. Meanwhile, the consequences of a fall, even from a height of one’s own height, can be deplorable: from simple bruises to fractures of the femoral neck and the base of the skull,” Sergey Popov explained.

Stability will give you shoes with bulky soles, anti-slip pads, a cane with a rubber tip – it will serve as an additional point of support. A hat or hood on the head can also mitigate the effects of hitting the head on the ice.

The next important point is to try to walk along the edge of the pavement covered with snow, that is, to avoid slippery surfaces. Walk slowly and often, do not keep your hands in your pockets – you simply will not have time to get them out and you will not be able to insure yourself in case of a fall, while most likely the blow will fall on the hip joint, shoulder or head, the consequences can be the saddest.

Can you help yourself in those few milliseconds before you collapse on the ice? Doctors are in solidarity – you can help, you need to fall correctly. There are several “golden” rules that are designed to reduce the force of impact.

When falling, group (tighten) the muscles as much as possible – this way they will serve as a kind of shock absorber. If you fall on your back – open your arms wide, press your chin to your neck – this will increase the impact area, but reduce its strength. If you fall forward, try to shift the trajectory so that the main bruise does not fall on outstretched arms (there is a high risk of dislocation or fracture of the hand), but on your side. Any objects you are holding at the time of the fall should be thrown aside.

So you fell! Assess your condition, if the movements of the limbs do not cause sharp pain – try to stand up, you can ask for help from passers-by. Rest for a while, as the effects of the impact may take several hours to show.

If immediately after the fall you feel a sharp pain, nausea – do not move, call an ambulance (ask eyewitnesses about it), then follow the recommendations of the doctors.

ice Sergey Popovtraumatologist’s advice Alexey Melnichenko

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Basic Safety Rules for Working with Fall Harness

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June 26, 2023

Working at height is always associated with a risk to human life and health. Therefore, certain safety standards have now been developed and introduced into mandatory use, which have a clear prescription for the use of specialized equipment when working at height. Tethers can be called the key of these devices.

Contents

• Harnesses and how they are determined
• Requirements for a fall arrest harness
• Where to buy a fall arrest harness?

According to the rules on labor protection when working at height, the employer is obliged to issue PPE to the employee depending on the type of work and taking into account the risks that affect the employee.

Safety harnesses, and how their type is determined

Before talking about the types, types and differences of harnesses, you first need to understand what it is in general and for what purposes it is used. The safety harness is an important part of the employee’s personal equipment, it is also a separate element of the safety system, which ensures safety when working at height.

The harness must not restrict the movement of the worker during the movement, however, in the event of a fall stop, keep the worker in himself and ensure that he is hovering with his head up. The task of the connecting system, due to the shock absorber, is to extinguish the jerk force in a range that will not cause serious injury to the worker. Thus, we get a reliable system that works without the participation of the employee himself, provided that it is used correctly.

Taking into account the specifics of work that can be performed at height and highly specialized tasks, harnesses can be used in the following systems:

1. Restraint system. Arranged with restraint harness in order to prevent the worker from entering the fall zone. The system is adjusted to a certain range of movement of the worker, while it is impossible to approach the height difference. This excludes a fall from a height as such. Such a system is used on the condition that all the intended work will be in safe access and access to the fall zone is not expected.
2. Safety systems. Used in situations where it is necessary to carry out work in areas where a fall is possible. Have safety harness included. In this case, the task of the harness is to hold the worker at the time of the fall, distribute the load over the body and stop the head up after the fall.
3. Positioning harnesses are used when a worker needs to be fixed at a height. For this, side points on the harness belt and a special sling are used.
4. Unsupported harnesses . A distinctive feature of such harnesses is the possibility of using them in a cable access system. These systems are used in environments where the entire system, and in particular the harness, is the means of access to the workplace. The harness has padding on the shoulder and hip straps. These changes are made in order to ensure a comfortable stay of a person in a sitting position for a long time.

choose a harness according to the job site

Harness requirements

When choosing from a variety of harnesses, you should be guided by the approved requirements that they must meet. An extended list can be found in the standards GOST R EN 361-2008 Group T58 and the National Standard of the Russian Federation.

According to these regulations, such systems must take into account:

• the presence of single or multi-filament synthetic materials in the composition, their level of tear strength, indicators of compatibility of woven tape and sewing threads with textile material of slings and belts;
• obligatory presence of straps in the hip and shoulder areas, while comparing such systems with a restraint belt cannot be allowed;
• in such constructions, regulators must be present to adjust the leash to the features of the figure, to ensure high and tight fixation of the body of a particular person;
• The straps must be wide enough to prevent them from cutting into the body when the fall is abruptly stopped. Therefore, a minimum width of 4 cm for basic straps is considered acceptable, and for auxiliary straps – from 2 cm.

Where can I buy a harness?

You can find all types of harnesses for safe work at height in our catalogue.