The question at your doctor's office has gone from rating your pain level to have you fallen since your last visit. If you are over 50 there may be significant consequences from a fall. I am rather surprised that there are only a few places that teach proper falling. Here is the article:
In any tug of war between Barbro Finndin Stål and her large poodle, Sally, the dog usually wins.

The 72-year-old walks her dog daily, and a few squirrel sightings that excited the dog have left her on the ground. She has been shaken, though never seriously injured. When she saw classes training people how to fall advertised in her local newspaper in Gothenburg, Sweden, she immediately signed up.

Most fall interventions focus on staying on your feet by training strength and balance. Judo federations in Europe and Japan are experimenting with programs like the one Finndin Stål is enrolled in that teach seniors what to do—and not do—when a slip happens.

We are going to take a tumble at some point in our lives, no matter our fitness level. These classes show the right ways to fall to avoid life-changing injuries that can lead to a cascade of other problems that worsen as we age.

Globally, one-third of people 65 and older fall at least once a year, with 5% of these falls resulting in a fracture, according to the World Health Organization. Falls are the leading cause of injury and injury-related death among Americans 65 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Those who fall once are two to three times more likely to fall again, the CDC says. The fear of falling can significantly affect quality of life, says Dr. Lyndon Joseph, an exercise physiologist with the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging in Besthesda, Md.

“People become scared to leave their home,” he says. “That spirals into people being less active. They become sedentary and lose muscle power. They’re less social and become isolated and depressed.”


Instructor Anders Krus supervises as Ingrid Milvedan Parker, in a purple top, slowly releases Barbro Finndin Stål’s hands so she can gently roll backward during a Judo4Balance class at a club outside Gothenburg, Sweden. PHOTO: ANNIKA KRUS
Help with judo
In judo, your opponent tries to throw you to the mat, so it is crucial to know how to avoid injury when you go down. One of the first skills taught in the martial art is ukemi, or fall-breaking. It involves spreading the impact of a fall over the widest area possible and trying to keep the body relaxed.

In 2015, the Dutch Judo Federation launched a fall-prevention program for seniors called ZekerBewegen, which loosely translates as feeling safe in movement. The six-session program costs $75 and is taught by around 150 instructors at local judo clubs and in assisted-living homes and senior communities throughout the Netherlands.



“The main goal is to make people feel safe and confident so they can maintain an independent quality of life,” says Benny van den Broek, the federation’s coordinator of sport for all.

At a club outside Gothenburg, Finndin Stål enrolled in Judo4Balance, a low-cost, preventive training program for falls created by the Swedish Judo Association. The 10-to-16-week program made its debut in 2018. All of the experts are black-belt judo instructors.

Students learn techniques for falling backward, sideways and forward. They also do leg- and core-strength exercises, balance training and drills where participants get up and down from the floor lying on their stomach and their back.

Kristiina Pekkola, president of the Swedish Judo Foundation, says the program has around 250 licensed instructors, many aged 70 or older, who teach at approximately 40 judo clubs in Sweden.

“Our older instructors have the time to volunteer, and it’s nice for participants to have a role model of the same age,” she says.


Milvedan Parker assists as Finndin Stål practices how to safely fall by rolling on her side.

Falling 101
Judo4Balance instructor Anders Krus, 75, teaches 20 participants, including Finndin Stål. He starts with basics, like sitting on the floor and falling backward. They move to more challenging exercises, such as standing up and holding hands with a partner, sitting down slowly, then releasing hands to fall backward. Classes take place on cushioned mats.

Important tips include resisting the urge to extend your hands to break a fall. “That’s how you injure a wrist,” Krus says. He also notes it is crucial to protect the head by tucking your chin to your chest and trying to roll to your side in a ball on the ground.

“The first time Anders told us to fall, I was terrified,” Finndin Stål says. The practice has paid off. She says the last time her dog pulled her forward and down, she stayed calm and remembered to protect her head.

Class member Ingrid Milvedan Parker, 74, suffered a broken wrist from a fall a few years ago. She still gets nervous when asked to do a forward somersault in class, but says overcoming her fears in a safe environment has boosted her confidence.

“I can now look both ways when I cross the street and not feel thrown off-balance,” she says. Sessions end with coffee, adding a social component.

Joseph, from the National Institute on Aging, says he isn’t aware of any official judo-based fall-prevention programs in the U.S. The National Institute on Aging is sponsoring a study by University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., that uses techniques from judo for fall prevention in older adults.

Seniors aren’t the only ones who can benefit from fall training. Research shows our balance begins to decline starting around age 50. And falls are the leading cause of nonfatal injuries for all children in the U.S. ages 0 to 19, according to the CDC. Judo4Balance has developed similar programs targeted at working-age adults and children.

“We teach all kids to swim to avoid drowning, so why not teach people how to fall from a young age?” Krus says.

I took a very hard fall a few years ago while in the work parking lot. Black ice...went to get out of my truck and as soon as I put my foot down, I went down like a rock. Narrowly missing cracking my head on the nerf bar of my truck and thought for sure I tore my left should up bad as I tried to catch myself on the way down. I threw down my cell phone so hard it bounced three times and skidded over 50 yards across the lot. The sad part is there were others in the lot that saw me go down and not a single one of them came or even yelled to see if I was OK. I was maybe 47-48 when this happened.

Two other guys I used to work with have had really bad falls. One slipping on ice and knocking himself unconscious for a few minutes. One other guy fell from his ladder onto concrete and cracked his head open. Took several weeks of rehab after a hospital stay just so he could walk again.

As you age, crap happens, keep in mind you aren't 20 years old anymore. Good luck to everyone!

The few times in my life that I have fallen I didn't have time to even think on how to fall.

I'm now seventy-two years old and have fallen twice w/in the last fifteen or so years.

The last time was when I was walking into The Henry Ford Museum, for some reason looking at my phone while I was walking--which I rarely do, failed to realize I was approaching a shallow set of steps down, and down I went.

My Parachute Landing Fall training, which I'd learned some thirty-five or forty years ago in skydiving school, apparently automatically kicked-in. As I started to go over I rolled so my upper-arm and shoulder would take the brunt of it, let my legs fold, and let it happen.

No injury--other than to my ego. Bystanders were surprised.

The time before that I'd looked outside, seen the glare on the driveway--so I knew it was icy, but, stupidly, as I walked out of the garage was so intent on seeing how badly my car was iced-up completely failed to remember the surface upon which I was about to walk was slicker than cat snot on a glass doorknob. As soon as my trail foot left dry pavement over I went backwards.

Fast. My feet went out from under me so quickly they literally flew up in the air.

I instinctively curled--hard, so my upper back would take the brunt of it and to keep my noggin from slamming into the concrete. (There was no way to roll on that one. Nothing to work against. I was literally airborne from the time my feet left the pavement until my shoulders hit.)

I partially succeeded. It's damn lucky I was wearing a rather large felt cowboy hat because it cushioned the blow. Still: I learned what people meant by "seeing stars."

I curled so hard in that fall my abs hurt for days--and I'd been working out, regularly, incl. ab crunches, for a long time.

Another thing I've learned about falling is do not try to break a fall by putting your hand down flat on the surface. That's how you jam a wrist. Not fun. (I have the wrist braces to show for it.)

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

The question at your doctor's office . . .

Link?

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

The question at your doctor's office . . .

Link?

I think he's referring to the standard questions on the annual Medicare wellness check form, others are "Can you climb stairs? Do you forget things?" etc.

In an amazing coincidence, I tripped while jogging - on a smooth concrete sidewalk - this morning. Did a face and palm plant, sprained my left (support) hand and got a few abrasions on my face.

No, I did not use any of the methods in the OP.

quote:

I think he's referring to the standard questions on the annual Medicare wellness check form, others are "Can you climb stairs? Do you forget things?" etc.

^^^^^^^^^^
Yep. Hospital administration also has their hand in this such that anyone over 50 is asked this question.

Along with: 'Do you feel safe at home?'


.

Experienced ice skaters know how to fall without injury.

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

Link?

I think he's referring to the standard questions on the annual Medicare wellness check form, others are "Can you climb stairs? Do you forget things?" etc.

I'm referring to the long section of the original post that starts with

"Here is the article:
In any tug of war between Barbro Finndin Stål and her large poodle, Sally, the dog usually wins."

That looks like a copy-and-paste, from a published article, but I do not see any link to the original article.

https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/...4c0?mod=hp_lead_pos9
^^^^^^^^
WSJ probably behind a paywall. You should subscribe. First year is ONE DOLLAR per week. Absolutely no hassle if you cancel after a year. I chose to continue at a higher rate.

When I moved to the Frozen North, I had to become fall aware. I have cleated footwear and put them on before I leave the door in winter. NEOS overshoes have a cleated model that is easy to put on and take off. And you can buy stud kits for your boots online. A good source for cleats and studded shoes / boots:
www.thewarmingstore.com

^^^^^^^^^^^^
Good to know. None of that stuff existed when I was a kid or when I lived in Wisconsin as an adult. Thanks for the link in case I visit the Great White North.

If you have ever been thrown by a judoka, it’s like getting hit with the earth.

I believe everyone should learn how to break fall. It can save you significantly from more serious injuries.

I see lots of fall related injuries in my orthopedic practice many of which result in significant injury, especially broken hips in the 70+ age bracket.

And a good number of these people end up with deep psychological scars from the experience that do greatly limit the ability to return to maximal function in recovery, and it is a vicious cycle- scared to move and be active, so get weaker and less steady as they progressively d3crease their level of function.

I send a lot of patients for what we generically call balance and gait training to restore function and also hopefully confidence that allows them to regain function

One of the few things I learned my first year of college was in a marshal arts class on how to fall... but then they also taught how to fall badly so that when competing and your opponent throws you falling badly makes it look like they did the throw wrong. How this helped me was when I was trying to break into a building and fell 30 feet onto a concrete side walk... I actually got up and found another way into the building...

I really don't think this helped me 4 years ago when I took a dive off a house... I did by some magic land 'well' and only fractured two vertebrae ..... only laid me up for a month and only took 2 years to get over... well sort of.

My only real comment about the post and such is how many people have the time when they are falling to think about how they are gong to land?

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

How long before those are mandated?

I wondered why lately every office visit they ask me if I've fallen.
When they ask me if I feel safe at home I just chuckle and say I live
alone, safe from what?
I don't mention I have a loaded firearm in every room of the house.

quote:

Originally posted by captain127:
I see lots of fall related injuries in my orthopedic practice many of which result in significant injury, especially broken hips in the 70+ age bracket.

This is why I continue to work out regularly. First of all: Working out regularly decreases the chance of a fall resulting from weak muscles, muscle imbalances, and poor coordination. Secondly: Working out regularly reduces the chance of injury if I do fall and should improve recovery time if I do injure myself.

quote:

Originally posted by captain127:
And a good number of these people end up with deep psychological scars from the experience that do greatly limit the ability to return to maximal function in recovery, ...

I saw that first-hand. There was a guy at my old gym, I think a few years older than me, that had had "back issues" for years. At some point in recent history he'd fallen. He became so scared of falling again he took to walking slowly, kind of stiff-legged. This, of course, only exacerbated is lower back issues and negatively impacted his recovery from back surgery to address them. Last I knew he was still "walking" with the aid of a walker--some two years following his last back surgery.

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:
My only real comment about the post and such is how many people have the time when they are falling to think about how they are gong to land?

You don't. It has to be instinctual. I practiced PLFs when I learned to sky dive. The time I went over backwards: Crunching hard like that so the backs of my shoulders would take the brunt of it was an instinctive reaction.