I have a condition, Ehlers Danlos with is a connective tissue disease. There are dozens of different issues and one of them for me is very fragile skin and a major bleeding disorder. I have 100 scars, especially on my shins from every time I bump into anything.........it tears my fragile skin and bleeds excessively.
I've had 24 different surgeries/major procedures and in 3 cases, had life threatening bleeding incidents that happened after getting home. 2 of them resulted in a loss of 4+ units of blood and unconsciousness with it being almost a miracle to not die. A big reason was that my blood pressure dropped so low that the bleeding stopped and allowed the spot to clot(1 was from the doctor cauterizing the spot after the scab came off from a hemorrhoid surgery 2 weeks earlier) . Also, I exercise extremely hard and have a very strong heart that kept pumping until they could inject me with adrenaline to revive me from unconsciousness in 1 of the cases.
So the main point here is that if I fall and hit my head hard enough to cause even a slight amount of brain bleeding..........it's curtains with extremely high likelihood.
As a result, I've learned a few things to share with you about minimizing risks from falls that cause traumatic, life threatening brain injuries.
When walking/shoveling on snow/ice, I try to position so that a fall will be forward, so my arms can catch my body hitting the ground.
I ruptured my left distal bicep tendon 4 years ago from a fall forward but that was better than death from a fall backwards that hit my head hard on the wooden floor.
However, apparently falls forward also carry a high risk of head injury. There is a best way to fall backwards as shown below. If you haven't practiced it, you won't do it when a surprise fall backwards happens and your chance of a life threatened brain injury are greatly elevated.
The information below is dead serious, real risk, real world authentic information that can save your life.
Knowledge that can be applied by everybody, regardless of conditions and especially at our age.
Please read it.
Falls are actually the leading cause of TBI in the United States, particularly among older adults.(5) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 32,000 people die each year from fall-related injuries, and a large portion of those deaths are linked to traumatic brain injuries.
Essential Points:
Final Thoughts: Protect Your Brain, it’s Worth It!
Falls are a leading cause of traumatic brain injury, but they don’t have to be inevitable. By taking proactive steps like modifying your home, improving your balance, and using protective gear, you can significantly reduce your risk of both falls and TBIs. And remember, it’s never too early, or too late, to start taking your brain health seriously.
If you're concerned about your risk of falling, or want to build a fall prevention plan that works for your lifestyle, I’m here to help! Book a wellness coaching session today, or if you prefer to be more independent, build your balance with my Beginner to Intermediate Balance Program. Don’t wait until it’s too late, take action now to protect your brain and your future.
https://www.ncesc.com/what-to-do-if-you-fall-backwards/
| falling back wards compared to falling forward hitting your head - Video Search Results The search engine that helps you find exactly what you're looking for. Find the most relevant information, video, images, and answers from all across the Web. video.search.yahoo.com |
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10054543/
Background: The formation of large accelerations on the head and cervical spine during a backward fall is particularly dangerous due to the possibility of affecting the central nervous system (CNS). It may eventually lead to serious injuries and even death. This research aimed to determine the effect of the backward fall technique on the linear acceleration of the head in the transverse plane in students practicing various sports disciplines.
Been thinking about this more(because of my condition/vulnerability). Putting all this stuff in a nutshell and applying it for me means the following.
1. The faster you are walking, the more momentum and force your body has when it hits the ground. Slower means less force hitting the ground most of the time.
2. The faster you are walking, the more your body sticks out away from your center of gravity. The more that this happens, the greater the frictional force at the surface needs to be in order to keep you stable. Standing motionless, for instance keeps your center of gravity lined up with where your feet are on the ground with NO NEED for horizontal frictional forces on the ground. When you step forward, your center of gravity moves forward too but your feet are no longer lined up below the center of gravity and horizontal frictional forces on the ground are needed in the opposite direction of your movement in order to keep your feet from slipping. Clearly, smaller steps and slower speed minimizes the need for horizontal friction between the ground and with your FRONT FOOT because they minimize the disparity between your center of gravity and each foot as it steps forward, ahead of your center of gravity.
3. When you are about to fall from a trip or slip, everything happens in a microsecond and you have LOST CONTROL of your body.
4. But not complete control.......if you think about it! During the falling process, most of us just let Mr. Gravity determine everything. For sure Mr. Gravity controls the entire powerful force causing you to hit the ground but we absolutely have some control of our bodies during the fall. If its a fall forward, we WILL instinctively put our arms out to catch our body without thinking about it. No need to think about or practice that.
5. However, its the falls backwards, to me that are the riskiest because our arms are on the front part of our bodies, not the back side. Depending on the fall, some falls can feature your feet flying up in the air, an upward motion/force which causes an equal and opposite DOWNWARD force on your upper body, which can result in your head violently hitting the ground. But we can help prevent this!
6. During the split second that your body is in the air, you must act quickly. Instead of letting your body fall straight back, facing the same position the entire time, we are capable of twisting to the right(most natural if you're left handed) or twisting to the left(most natural if you're right handed) while still in the air. This helps you to land towards or on your right or left shoulder instead of on your spine and head. Another option is if we are falling straight back, to tuck our head/chin into our chest so that when are back hits, our head is elevated and doesn't hit.