# Is there a right a wrong way to fall?



## Dave94024 (Dec 18, 2010)

Ok, actually I just found one “wrong” way to fall… as I was going down I put my arm out to soften the fall :madman: . Instead I nearly broke my wrist. Dr says I’m lucky I ONLY chipped a piece of the bone off (lucky because I don’t a cast and I may be cleared for riding in about 2 weeks)… 

I just turned 50 so I don’t heal as fast as most of you! Assuming I have time to think (like last time), what do I want to do as I’m falling?


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## ratmonkey (Feb 10, 2011)

Loosen up, don't lead with your arms locked, don't lead with your head.


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## BJL-1 (Apr 7, 2011)

i hear people talk about or read about the "right" way to fall. IMO its nearly impossible to control a fall 99% of the time. Its instinct to reach out as we are going to the ground which tends to cause common cycling injuries like broken wrists and collarbones. And in some cases I''ve known people to go over the bars so fast that they were unable to land hands first and have broken their noses.


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## beanbag (Nov 20, 2005)

Dave94024 said:


> Ok, actually I just found one "wrong" way to fall&#8230; as I was going down I put my arm out to soften the fall :madman: . Instead I nearly broke my wrist. Dr says I'm lucky I ONLY chipped a piece of the bone off (lucky because I don't a cast and I may be cleared for riding in about 2 weeks)&#8230;
> 
> I just turned 50 so I don't heal as fast as most of you! Assuming I have time to think (like last time), what do I want to do as I'm falling?


Maybe the way you fell was the best way after all? You could have broken worse things. But in general, try to fall in such a way that you slide or roll instead of coming to an abrupt stop.

My two most recent falls were:
Did a backflip on a technical uphill. Managed to land on my hydration pack and rolled sideways down the hill a rotation or two. Bent derailleur, no injuries.

Front tire washout. Bike and I slid sideways. Scrape on calf.


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## PscyclePath (Aug 29, 2007)

Falling off a bike does not require a lot of skill. People do it all the time, and most have never trained or practiced for it. However, falling off a bike while maintaining awareness of your actions and maintaining control of your body is a skill. 

Most of the various mountain biking handbooks will have some discussions on how to fall a little more safely. Some of the RoadBikeRider.com articles as well as the Chris Carmichael riding clinics discuss it as well. A good general rule that I use in classes when we talk about hazard avoidance is to "fall like the trunk; not the tree." By that, I mean most people when they fall tend to throw their arms out trying to catch themselves. The result here is that your hand usually takes the impact and weight of your falling body, and that shock is transmitted straight up your arm until it finds a weak point... often snapping the collar bone. My habit, when I know I'm going down, is to tuck my arms close to my body and roll with the impact... dividing and diluting that impact over as much body surface as possible. I learned this in the hand-to-hand combat pits in Army boot camp many years ago, but it's similar to what they teach in martial arts, and in the basic MTB books. 

I fully agree that a significant emphasis in learning to ride is learning to avoid falling in the first place. But bad things can and do happen, and the #1 cause of crashes/injuries for cyclists remains the simple fall.


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## Timeless (Mar 23, 2007)

generally when I fall I try to roll to my back and go sliding along that but it is generally protected by my camelbak.


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## Dave94024 (Dec 18, 2010)

*Thanks! All very good ideas.*

BJL - totally agree, can't control this all the time.  I've had two decent "falls" this calendar year. This one that nearly broke my wrist&#8230; and the previous one that happened so fast there wasn't time to think. In that case I landed in some nice soft poison oak&#8230; luckily for me it was a freezing cold day and I had no skin exposed! Plus it was soft. No harm, no foul&#8230; But on this last time&#8230; I saw it coming and it felt like it was happening in slow motion for parts&#8230;  Sounds like the "thinking" might be what got me in trouble to some extent! :nono:

OK, keep loose&#8230; fall like a tree trunk&#8230; spread the force across my body&#8230; and yeah, at my age (50), avoiding the fall is best! :eekster:


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## Julie (Jul 26, 2005)

I've had my share of injuries and can't seem to shake the mt biking habit although I'm 62 and getting brittle. I now wear some armor ALL the time no matter how hot it is..I promised my ortho after the hip pins. I have found the elbow guards..a hard shell type...have come in handy on many occasions when I have had time to think on the way down. I preferentially lead with one of those armored elbows instead of my hand or shoulder and I believe they have saved me grief several times as they spread the impact over a wide area and the underlying thick padding absorbs it as well.


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## Dave94024 (Dec 18, 2010)

Julie – I know what you mean. The warrantee is definitely off on this body here! I guess I’ll have to start a collection of armor as well. I used to chuckle at those “kids” all decked out in their DH gear, full helmets, Armor, etc… on trails you really don’t get that fast on… :skep: I guess eventually I’ll look like I stepped off a Battlestar Galactic set… but with fewer trips to the Doctor! :thumbsup: 

Stripes – LOL, I had figured out the not lead with your hand part now  The Aikido is a great idea. :thumbsup: It would be similar to the tree trunk from PscyclePath. Its funny, I was actually into Judo but that was literally 30 years ago. If you “threw” me today, I bet that muscle memory would kick in and I would fall ok. But now add lots of forward momentum and tangle a bike up with your body… and poof, the judo "memory" just didn’t kick in during that short time I was “thinking” about falling! :eekster: Maybe next time it will now!


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## aerius (Nov 20, 2010)

ratmonkey said:


> Loosen up, don't lead with your arms locked, don't lead with your head.


This pretty much sums it up. Sometimes it's better to break an arm than crack your skull, if your head is headed for a rock at high speed it's a good idea to get your arms out in front to take some of the hit even if you end up breaking your arms and shoulder. The doctors can put your arms & shoulder back together but they can't unscramble your brain. Sometimes you just can't get your head out of the way, and that's when you sacrifice another body part to save your head.


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## Dave94024 (Dec 18, 2010)

Aerius – yup, I think I had the instinctively not leading with the head but then locked my arm and then also landed on an uneven surface (rocks, branches, etc) which didn’t help either! Good things to think about. :thumbsup: 

I’ve armored up partially, more coming…  

My injuries are a lot less then what I typically read about in this part of the forum – so I glad I’m able to take my experience and everyone’s thoughts here and learn from them!  

Last weekend I hiked some of my usual trails since I couldn’t ride yet but wanted some exercise. LOL experiences as a hiker on "multi-use" trails – I think that’s a different thread. I think this weekend will be ‘ride with the kids on the paved trail’ – no jolts or falls for the wrist allowed! :nono: Hopefully the following weekend I’m back on the regular trails!


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## beanbag (Nov 20, 2005)

Maybe you should do some stretches to increase your flexibility.


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## Dave94024 (Dec 18, 2010)

Beanbag - excellent point.  

My Dr. asked me what stretches I do… and pointed out that A) I wasn’t stretching out enough (leaving out important stretches) and B) I wasn’t stretching after my ride… (I don't think I've ever stretched after a ride!)

Yeah, more stretching! But the flexibility will come into play most once I remember not to go "locked up"...:thumbsup:


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## Dave94024 (Dec 18, 2010)

You know&#8230; about all I used to do was a single stretch for the calf and sometime if I remembered I would do something for the back of my thighs. :madman: My Dr. thought for someone my age, I should also be stretching the front of my thighs for sure (as opposed to when I remembered!) but also there are several different ways to do this (as opposed to the single "form" I used) as well as the back of my thighs, upper and lower back, and arms. Of course, the Dr explained this in medical terms for all the muscle or muscle groups, etc. This is just my interpretation  , which I'm sure is missing something in the translation!  The Dr even said I should be doing these before AND after the ride...:skep:

So I started doing these at home in the living room before even loading my bike. And then at the trail head I do another quicker run-through again. But what you don't see on the list above is the wrist which is where this thread started!

Thinking back to when I was into the martial arts way back in college many years ago, we did an extensive amount of stretching/loosing up before each session. That included the wrist, arms, chest, ankles, and many more I haven't done before a bike ride&#8230;

I have yet to do the after ride stretch&#8230; always forget&#8230; It seems that by the time I finish, I'm pretty much stretched and loosened up (assuming I haven't hurt myself along the ride). Does anyone do an after ride stretch? Does it help?


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## beanbag (Nov 20, 2005)

If you want to know about stretches, search or ask on the XC Racing and training forum.


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