The unfortunate skill of falling
Sadly, after you get a certain age, falling down can lead to serious injuries. Just yesterday, I slipped exiting my train from Ottawa, returning to Toronto after an extended weekend visit with friends and my brother. That briefly scary moment, and the fact that I came out unscathed, reminded me how important it is to know how to fall.
Most of us do not know how to fall. The exception are people who practice certain martial arts, pro wrestlers and skateboarders. The rest of us just equate falling with fear. That fear makes us tense up and make mistakes that can have serious repercussions. Instead of letting fear lead to injuries we should take the following steps:
1/ After making a single attempt to regain balance, or grab for that nearby handle, accept that you are falling and mentally prepare for the fall.
2/ Keep as relaxed as possible. Instinctively, many of us tense up when we fall. We reach out with tense, straight arms. That is the opposite of what we should do. Imagine having 2 sticks: 1 is fairly solid but thin, the second is the same size but has some flex to it. If you hit both against a rock, which is less likely to break? Do not tense up. Arms should only be used to measure your fall, not to brace it. If your body is relaxed you can think rationally during the situation. Thinking gives you options in how to fall. Not many, but allowing your brain to do it’s thing may be the only thing that limits your injuries.
3/ One of your objectives when falling, and why you need to remain calm, is to do what you can to protect your head. It’s one thing to have broken bones, or torn muscles, it’s another to deal with serious head trauma.
Sometimes it’s inevitable. When I was a teenager I had a head-on collision with a truck on my moped. It was at a blind corner, on a small, private road. If I avoided the truck I would have either smashed into a wall, or into rocks and trees. My safest option was the collision. Not including such exceptions, when falling, the two things your mind should repeat are, “Stay calm,” and “Protect your head.”
Many years ago, the second last time that I went back to Bermuda, one of my girlfriends came with me. I was working that Summer, so she found a gig helping coach gymnastics to fill her free time. To get to practices, she needed to rent a moped. I remember telling her that, if it was raining and her moped slipped from underneath her, she should relax and go with it.
I thought I was giving her safety advice. She thought I was saying that she sucked riding a moped. Needless to say, that relationship was unfortunately nearing its end.
That said, I’m not saying that any of you guys will inevitably fall as you age. Instead, these are merely tips on the mindset you need to have if you have a scare like I faced yesterday.
The one year old snow boots I was wearing still have a good tread. I planted my heel on the top step as I reached down to grab the handle at the train exit stairs. However, despite seeing snow on the steps, I hadn’t realized that the top step was icy. My foot slipped out. Because I had a back pack on I couldn’t adjust my balance and I fell. In retrospect, it was a good thing that I was initially reaching for the handle. Reaching forward put a natural curve to my back as I fell backwards.
After measuring the distance of my fall with my right arm, I instinctively placed my hands on top of my body. As I slid down every step out the train, knowing that I couldn’t regain my balance because of the snow and ice that caused me to slip in the first place, a loud voice in my head said, “Protect your head.”
From the last step to the ground there was a loud thud. Prepared for the inevitable, I lifted my head, making sure that it never touched the ground. The people behind me gasped at the sound of my impact. The gentleman outside the train who took my suitcase, quickly pulled me up. He had attempted to reach for me as I was falling, but I fell too fast.
If I really want to make a stink out of things, I was told that a report on my fall would be written up by this afternoon. However, my mind was thinking free train tickets at the time, while they were more worried about my health. With that as context, I don’t particularly feel like putting someone’s job at risk for a free train ride.
Today, my only injury is a scratch on my right hand’s ring finger. That’s it. It could have been much worse. However, I have the unfortunate skill of knowing how to fall.
