How to Protect Yourself During a Fall

Almost everyone has fallen at some point. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, this particularly creates problems for the elderly, one third of whom fall each year. Unfortunately, this can lead to serious injuries. You can take steps to prevent falls, but some remain inevitable. Because of this, you should also should learn how to protect yourself when it happens. 

Protect Your Head

Your most immediate concern any time you fall should be to protect your head. If you are falling straight forward or backward, your momentum can carry your head to a direct impact with the floor or ground. If this happens, you risk suffering a neck or brain injury that can carry long-term consequences for your health.

To avoid these injuries, try to tuck your head or turn to your side when you fall. Hitting the ground this way can still be painful and cause other injuries, but recovering from bruises or even broken bones comes with less long term risk than a brain or spine injury. Avoid this kind of impact if at all possible.

Protect Your Joints

One of the most natural reactions to falling down is to try to brace yourself by reaching your hands in front of you. Similarly, to keep from falling on your face, you might bend your knees to lessen the distance you fall. Although these reactions come naturally, they are not the best ways to protect yourself. Wrist or knee injuries often come from this self-preservation instinct.

To protect your joints, you should try to tuck your body when you fall. Rather than falling on your hands, knees, or elbows, try to hit with a softer, fleshier part of your body, or a longer portion like your side to spread the impact over a wider area.

If you do fall, you have more to protect than just your health. When a slip and fall or other accident comes due to someone else’s negligence, you should contact an experienced attorney to protect your legal rights.