Train yourself how to fall to reduce risk of injury

I hate to break it to you, but you will, at some point, fall. (See what I did there? Break? Fall?)

You never know when a fall will land you on the ground. But you can prepare for falls and lessen the risk of injury — whether minor like a twisted ankle or major like a broken hip.

I’ve written before about why we fall more as we get older — our eyesight diminishes, our physical strength wanes. I’ve written about things you can do to prevent falls, like making sure you stay active, getting rid of trip hazards and wearing your glasses. And how you can improve your balance, by practicing standing on one foot, walking heel-to-toe or trying yoga.

Technology is advancing, too. New fall detection and prediction systems built with artificial intelligence and machine learning can analyze a person’s gait and anticipate when a fall might be imminent.

And those are all valuable. But the day will come when you will fall. Novelist Dani Shapiro wrote a few months ago in the New York Times about falling on a smooth sidewalk while walking back to her car after dinner: “When we fall, we are consumed with embarrassment and its more toxic cousin, shame. Mortified by our fragility and its accompanying whisper of aging and death.”

Look at it this way: You aren’t in a car accident every time you drive, but you wear your seat belt every time just in case. You’re not going to fall every day, either, but just in case you do, there are a few things to do and a few things not to do.

Before we go any further though, a note of caution. Don’t try this at home. Falling takes practice. Find a trainer or a class and practice falling in a controlled setting on a padded surface. (Remember, we all had driver’s ed before we could get behind the wheel.) Learning to fall can be almost as scary as falling itself, but the more we practice, the more prepared we will be.

Here are a few general principles:

Don’t FOOSH. That’s a real acronym, and it stands for “Falling On an Outstretched Hand.” We have a natural instinct to reach out to stop ourselves or break the fall, but landing on the wrist — one of the more vulnerable joints in the body — can be dangerous. Because of the wide range of motion needed to function properly, wrists are made up of several joints, bones, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and it’s this complexity that makes it vulnerable to fracture.

Instead, tuck and roll. If you feel you’re going to fall, bend the knees and pull in your elbows so the fleshier parts of your body, like the buttocks and shoulder, can take the brunt. If you can, avoid falling on bony parts of your body, like knees and hips. Rather, turning your body slightly to the side will spread the impact of the fall over a larger part of your body.

Use your arms, not your hands. Whether you’re falling backward or forward, your arms can help. Falling forward, bend the elbows and try to slap the ground with your forearms. Falling backward, stretch your arms out to the side and let them slap the ground to help break the fall.

Protect your head. Bumps, bruises and even broken bones will heal, but the brain is another story. It’s the most important resource to protect. By landing on your forearms in a forward fall, you have less chance of your head hitting the ground. Same thing going backward — stretch out the arms to the side and tuck in your chin to protect your head.

Take inventory before you try to stand up. Dani Shapiro, the women I mentioned earlier, was so embarrassed when she fell that she jumped up chanting, “I’m OK, I’m OK, I’m OK, I’m OK.” Only she wasn’t. In fact, her jaw was broken because her face had hit the ground.

After a fall, as chagrined as you may feel, stay there for a few moments and assess any injuries. Did you hit your head or a bony joint? Are you just sore? Then, roll slowly to your side, get up on hands and knees and carefully stand. If you’re wearing a smartwatch, it may ask if you’ve fallen and, if so, do you need to call 911.

Learning how to fall gives us a measure of control. It’s something I wish more physical therapists, hospitals, YMCAs and rec centers offered.

• Teri (Dreher) Frykenberg is a board-certified patient advocate. A critical care registered nurse for 30+ years, she is founder of NShore Patient Advocates (www.NorthShoreRN.com). Her book, “How to Be a Healthcare Advocate for Yourself & Your Loved Ones,” is available on Amazon. She is offering a free phone consultation to Daily Herald readers; email her at teri@northshorern.com.