Falling flat on your face
I’ve never before really thought about the origins of the phrase “to fall flat on your face” before. It was just an expression; what reason was there to take it literally?
What’s more, the face isn’t flat. There are protuberances there; most obviously the nose, and less so (but still important) the forehead and chin.
But last Saturday I had reason to ponder it, because I did just that: I fell flat on my face, and not just in the metaphorical sense.
It happened while I was doing my daily walk at my usual fast clip—although it wasn’t exactly daytime, and that almost certainly had some significance as well, because dusk had substantially impaired visibility. I was walking on a sidewalk that’s notoriously uneven, with periodic ridges where the blocks of pavement aren’t flush with each other, and then I was distracted by a group of four people walking nearby.
And so I tripped, with my toe catching on something-or-other. And for reasons I fail to understand even now—and probably wouldn’t be able to pinpoint unless I watched a slo-mo video of the proceedings—I fell hard and fast and was unable to effectively break my fall with my hands.
There was a strange moment when I sailed through the air, flailing a bit before I landed, knowing I was in a slight dive position with my head/face leading and probably likely to contact first. In that split-second, it was frightening to anticipate what might happen. My life didn’t flash through my mind, but questions like “will I have a concussion?” and “what will happen to my face?” certainly did.
I hit with most of the force of the blow centered on the right side of my face, especially my forehead and nose, and my right knee. I did get my hands down, but only enough to scrape my pinky and ring finger on my left hand ever-so-slightly.
But I didn’t know all that at the time; my main sensation was of hitting my head quite hard. I was then able to stand up and turn to the group of people who’d been watching in horror, strangers who were put in the odd and unsettling position of having to answer my question: what do I look like? What have I done to myself?
In other words: what do you see when you look at me?
The face is a psychologically sensitive area to us. It’s not for nothing that T.S. Eliot wrote, “to prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet.” The thought of permanent (or even temporary) injury there is especially frightening and disturbing, and I was frightened and disturbed on many levels simultaneously (including my fear of a concussion).
The people looked searchingly at me and their expressions were very concerned, which didn’t reassure me much. Nor did their words, “Well, you’re got a big gash and bump on your forehead, and one there [pointing to my nose]…” at which point I summoned the courage to put my hands to my face, and felt a huge goose egg on my forehead and my nose swollen to about twice its usual size. My hands were covered with blood when I withdrew them.
The scrape of my knee was as nothing, although it stung; it was my face and head that concerned me. Luckily, I was very near home—and very luckily, also seemed to have no issues with fogginess or double vision or any of the more ominous signs, although my nose had swollen enough to be encroaching on my vision a bit. I did the usual things when I got there: called my doctor cousin for advice on whether I needed to go to the emergency room (no), used ice for hours and hours, and tended the wounds for the next few days as he advised, with Vaseline and sunscreen and various bandages.
I looked like a prizefighter for a while, swollen and abraded forehead and nose and cheek and lip. And then black and blue eyes, with an interesting dark-purple tint to the upper lids that looked for all the world like the eyeshadow I ordinarily use. Now things are much, much better, and the doctor says I may escape without scarring, although time will tell, and I have to wear major sunscreen whenever I go out for a couple of months.
I consider myself lucky. But the whole thing has left me with a feeling of vulnerability in general, and especially when I walk. Why did it happen? Was it just that I need to stop walking when it’s getting dark? Is it that simple? If so, then why did I fall (much less spectacularly) in a similar manner about a year ago when it wasn’t especially dark, my foot catching on an uneven paver on the sidewalk? Should I walk looking down at all times? It’s not that I’m so clutzy that I’m constantly tripping and stumbling, but even twice is too many times for me.
And what of my failure to put my arms out in time? Was it a question of simple mechanics, just the way I happened to fall? Or was it because I tend to walk with my hands in my pockets, because of my chronic arm injury? Am I protecting them too much?
I took a day off from walking, but then decided I had to get back on the horse. So I’ve been walking again. But I must admit I’m a lot more nervous when I do my fast walking than I used to be, although I hope most of that will fade—with just a little extra wariness left over, enough to protect me in the future.
One thing though: if I’m walking on a sidewalk, it has to be before sunset. That’s my new rule, and I think it’s a good one.
[ADDENDUM: I appreciate everyone’s good wishes expressed in the comments section.
Just a few extra words of clarification: this doesn’t seem to have been a fall from any sort of unsteadiness or lack of balance, it was because I didn’t see the ridge of the pavement in the dark and as a result I was catapulted forward, face first, because of my previous forward momentum from walking very fast. I actually don’t think there was any way I could have broken my fall to avoid it, even if I’d been 18 years old, although of course there’s no way to tell. But the only way I can describe it is that I was hurled forward and had the brief but terrifying sensation of sailing or flying, at the same time knowing my face/head was leading the way slightly, and I was likely to fall on it. Mrs Whatsit seems to have had something similar happen to her, because she describes it pretty well here.]
These things would never happen, if you just got rid of that damn apple.
cornflour: you know, the first few days afterward, I actually wished I could have walked around with the apple in front of my face.
Get you a football helmet. But you may wanna carry a football so you don’t look too stupid. 🙂
Glad to hear you’re on the mend. If it’s any consolation, this can happen to anyone. My niece – fit, young and strong, so the least likely person to feel physically vulnerable – went flying the other week in similar circumstances. It’s also happened to me a couple of times when I’ve been out running, although I managed to break my fall and escaped with scraped knees and hands.
After 20 years of living in our house, I fell down the stairs for the first time. Not having grown up with stairs, I am not a speedster, definitely not when going down. This time, for some reason, my foot slipped and down I went. Fortunately, I suffered no injuries, except a sore arm which was wrenched as I grabbed the bannister on my way down. Like you, I was “back in the saddle” immediately, but now, I am afraid of falling and go even slower.
When I take my nearly daily walks, I am always on the lookout for the uneven sidewalks, hanging tree limbs, unfriendly dogs, and errant vehicles.
Sorry for your injury and glad you’re on the mend. If that particular sidewalk is becoming increasingly out of alignment due to heaving perhaps another route is advisable especially for speed-walking. Other than that, I wouldn’t read too much into this.
Most of us at one point or another have tripped on stairs that we climbed most of our adult life thinking that there was one more or one less step than there was.
30 years ago I left my office in the evening walking home. Preoccupied by a particular issue I was working on I was looking down (as I usually do when I walk) and “splang” I walked straightaway into a steel light pole. Now I knew that pole was there; I walked that route every day and it never moved an inch out of alignment, but on that day, “splang” nonetheless. Thankfully my ego was bruised more than my body; 30 years down the road I laugh.
You need to either get a treadmill or join a gym.
Now see Neo, you really are a typical conservative… you fall down, and then get yourself right back up and continue on.
I felt odd reading this. it was so riveting. I flashed back to the time that I was running up steps outside someone’s house and I felt as though God protected me because my hands went forward to stop my fall before I tripped.
I was looking at this concrete step in an instant that was an inch from my teeth and nose. I actually stood thinking about how that happened for a good five minutes. I surmised that I must have remembered subconsciously about the uneven steps and knew to put my hands forward because they certainly went forward before I fell.
And since my hands went to the step below with the step above jutting out towards my face I knew that out was the only way it could be.
So. there is a God. But why me and not you. Was it because I was going on a plane to visit grandma soon?
Sorry to hear about this, neo.
One suggestion: pick up a balance (wobble) board. It’s a round disk with a small hemisphere on one side. Try standing on it on one foot for a minute (time it; a cheap stopwatch is ideal), then change feet. Gradually increase the time as you can.
I got one several years ago when I was rehabbing a broken ankle, and it’s had a lot of unexpected beneficial effects (e.g., in batting).
When you get used to it, toss a medicine ball back and forth between your hands, or pass it around your waist and overhead, as you stand on the board.
Better balance improves your chances of recovering from such contretemps without falling, and even if you do fall, you’ll do so in a more controlled fashion that will help you avoid injury.
No words of helpful advice here, nor any witticisms [although I was thinking of mentioning the apple until I saw the first comment] — so, briefly, very best wishes; we’ll all be pullin’ for ya!
Aging is not for sissies, Neo. Night vision declines with age. Balance declines with age. That’s why older people should stay off roofs and should not stand on a chair to change a light bulb. When you get older it is easier to lose balance and harder to get it back. Children run looking straight ahead. They don’t look where they step. Older people slow down and look down when they walk.
The answer is to make adjustments as necessary.
Neo, Yes, that was a riveting account, and it made me wince, especially the part about the other people and the report they gave you. I’m glad you’re better, and if it’s any consolation, I thought it was a wonderful piece of writing.
Thank you, Occam’s Beard, for the advice about the balance board. I’m going to try that, having taken two pretty bad headers, though not as bad as Neo’s, in the past 18 months.
OK, verify this with your doctor/cousin, but, as I understand it —
Alternate ice with heat,, with a focus on ice — the ice reduces the swelling, the heat helps improve circulation to the damaged areas.
After the first 6h or so, maybe 12, switch entirely to heat (one easy way is to heat up a wet washcloth in the microwave, but you might want to use a towel between you and the washcloth at first to keep from getting scalded by a too hot washcloth, remove towel as the washcloth cools to less boiling-point temperatures).
The heat helps improve circulation and also helps break up the clots forming around the damaged tissues, which will help reduce the bruising time.
I haven’t had exactly what you speak of happen, but a similar fun event on a bicycle was a finely granulated, barely visible sand on pavement as I rounded a corner. The bike went sliding out from under me, faceplant as I’m sliding along the pavement.
Got the equivalent of a nasty carpet burn along one cheek/side of my face. Made for a nicely gaudy bandage that made me look like a major accident victim. Luckily I was 18 at the time, so it healed quickly.
I’m glad the injuries weren’t serious and wish your healing will be quick and complete.
Perhaps, when asked, you can mutter something about an Olympic woman’s boxing match with hints you were robbed by the judges.
Sticking your hands out to break a fall can lead to fractures in your wrists. As annoying and painful as your face felt, having your wrist in a cast would be worse.
At least I think so. And in your case, if someone asked what happened, you could always say “you should see the other guy” and leave it at that.
Your account made me wince. Thirty years ago I was climbing mountains and had a terrific sense of balance. In the last five years I’ve had a couple of falls that would not have happened back in those days. I do some balance exercises at the gym now and am appalled at how poor my balance is. It’s aging. (At least that’s my excuse.) I’m exercising more caution when I walk, jog, or get up on a ladder. Used to get up on the roof all the time to clean gutters. No more.
Anyway, here’s hoping you heal up completely with no lingering problems. And not walking at dusk seems a good idea as well.
Luck, actually, Neo. The frontal skull is a lot harder to fracture when striking a flat surface than the wrists are in breaking the fall, and in so doing breaking themselves (Colle’s fracture), as IRA points out.
Spending 8 weeks in one or two wrist casts…take the cosmetic blem instead!
Sorry to hear this! Best wishes for your speedy and complete recovery.
The problem of course is that it makes us wonder if we are getting old and will have more trips and falls in our future. I tripped on a sidewalk in New Orleans and badly banged up my right knee. I iced it over night and went on a walking tour the next day. My doctor later told me that I’d done the right thing. Of course, every time I fall now, I hit the same knee.
Slid off a bad part of my dock last weekend. I hadn’t planned on taking a dip. Managed to get my iphone dried out and the bruises on my leg are starting to fade. I hope you will heal as fast!
Re breaking wrists, the trick (hard to remember at the time, if it’s not instinctive) is not to land with your forearms perpendicular to the ground, but rather with our arms extended a bit upwards (towards your head), so that your forearms make an acute angle with the ground.
Alternatively, twist at the waist, extend one arm to the ground, tuck the shoulder of the extended arm, and convert the fall into a roll.
The idea, either way, is not to hit hard, like a sack of bricks landing straight down, but to come into contact with the ground more gradually.
Tumbling, football, and martial arts teach this until it is instinctive. (Unfortunately, it’s harder to learn when you’re no longer a kid.)
When I had my broken ankle and was on crutches I stumbled about halfway down a flight of stairs, pitching downstairs face first. I took another step (on the good ankle) as I lunged at but missed the bannister, then twisted around 180 degrees, tucked, hit on my butt on the landing and rolled head over heels backwards. No problem. Scared me to death, but I was otherwise OK.
I am curious what checklist your doctor cousin went through before advising you NOT to go to the ER.
Hope you are feeling better.
OOOh a full header! It’s amazing how quick that ground comes up to meet you. Glad your going to be ok, except for the stupid feeling, the one you have when you ask someone else “how do I look?”.
All is well that ends well. I’m glad you suffered no serious, long term injury. From time to time we all fall down, dust off our hands (or face in this case) and get on with life. Good health to you.
Wow! You kept on blogging!!
You certainly had a lot of thoughts while flying through the air. When I do that, I never get past, “What the .”
Lord, Neo, what a shocker. I’m glad you’re mending and not wearing any plaster. Don’t read too much into your fall. I did just that thing once but was luckier than you when it came to injuries. I caught my toe on a raised sidewalk edge while walking downtown at high noon, hurrying because we were late to a lunch meeting, wide awake and still pretty young, with some legal colleagues (one of them a judge!) that I was meeting for the first time and needed to impress. I don’t think I met that need. I did a face plant just as you described, plummeting down so suddenly and violently that there was no time to do anything to help myself. What saved me is that my hands were already in front of me, holding something, so they hit first and took more force than my face. My wrists weren’t broken but they hurt like the diickens and were red and swollen and sore for a few days, as was one knee that trickled blood inside the leg of my pants for the rest of that day, while I was being introduced to all sorts of new people (who must have wondered what the heck was wrong with me) while I pretended I wasn’t woozy and shocked and sore — not to mention embarrassed!
I don’t think a fall like that necessarily owes much to age. If you were walking fast, as I was, your body was speeding freely through the air at the moment when your foot was unexpectedly blocked. Your legs stopped moving but the body and face kept going as fast as they were before — only downward instead of forward, swung around the fulcrum of that stopped toe. Owwww.
Les has a good idea. I was thinking more like, “bar fight; you should see the others.” That may only work for guys, though.
I would not even have suggested that, if you had not made it fairly clear that the worst pain was passed. You have a lot of nerve endings in there, to tell you in no uncertain terms that you have done them a great wrong. I actually do feel your pain. I hope your healing continues well. Flashlight, perhaps?
Neo,
Stirring, elegant piece, but also worrying for us fans out here. Upper body and core strengthing exercises might have helped soften your landing. I believe they did for me in a similar fall when I tripped over the lip of an ill-fitting pair of sandals while simply sauntering along. Was able to somehow twist my body and improbably land on a shoulder and a hand in seeming defiance of physical law. Sustained just a hairline elbow fracture. But the sickening thud of hitting concrete shook my confidence and physical equilibrium for weeks.
O*U*C*H…!!
Easy Does It, Landlady. Sympathies and a stern cautionary note to watch that stuff…Well…Until after the danged election. We need’ja, Kiddo.(-:
Same thing happened to me just last week and it truly has shaken my confidence. I’m still stunned that I was not able to react fast enough to break my fall. What else am I really lousy at that I’ve taken for granted. I guess I’m waiting for the next “surprise”! Rest well dear Neo….
Neo, sorry to hear about your fall. Hope you recover quickly.
My sister fractured her wrist from falling on the ice while walking her big retriever on a leash. I walk a dog, but it is a small dachshund, and there are hardly any icy sidewalks here, so I am so far safe.
Occam’s Beard, your remarks about falling reminded me about my grandfather. In the final years of his life, he fell down, but did not break his hip- which is a very common occurrence for someone around 80 years old. He said the reason he didn’t break his hip was that from playing football as a youth- he was captain of his college team- he know how to hit the ground. Like you said, roll some.
Michael Adams, good one.
Hope you are feeling better!
Glad to hear you’re healing well, Neo. Face-plants are never any fun. My sis did one in a restaurant a few weeks back, was busy chatting with one of her friends while leaving, not paying attention, and forgot there was a step down. She ended up slamming her chin and neck into a table. If she had damaged her carotid artery or jugular, it could have gone very badly for her. Fortunately, she just got some ugly bruising.
I got one several years ago….and it’s had a lot of unexpected beneficial effects (e.g., in batting).
Tell me more, Occam. I still play softball, and much of the power I used to have at the plate has disappeared. Maybe it’s just old age setting in, but could it be it’s my balance that’s off?
I’ve learned not to go up and down stairs with my hands in my pockets. Just sayin’.
Thanks everyone.
See the addendum I’ve added at the end of the post.
Oh dear, I hope you are okay now.
I did a similar thing when I backed up to open the rear cargo door of my SUV and forgot that I was on a sloping driveway covered with about 2″ of solid ice. My feet went out from under me and next thing I knew was a neighbor leaning over me and asking if I was hurt. I think I blacked out for a few seconds.
In my case, I had similar face injuries and know that prize-fighter look all too well, but my more lasting injury didn’t show up for a couple of days. Apparently, when my head’s forward momentum was stopped abruptly by a concrete and ice covered driveway, it bounced, and I had severe whiplash of my entire back.
I was nearly 3000 miles from home, visiting relatives in Pittsburgh and had to leave the day after to drive back to California. I started out okay, but by the time I got to Albuquerque I knew I was in trouble. I got off the road really early in the day and tried to stay still. Bad idea, by morning, I had stiffened up so much, I was forced to lie in the motel bed until the maid came and she could help me get up and then help me put on my shoes.
When I finally pulled into my Calif. driveway, all I could do was lean on the horn until my son and nephew came out and literally carried me out of the car and into bed. It took more than a year for the excruciating spasms that would run up and down my back to stop and real healing to begin.
So be very careful.
Sorry to hear this.
I took my bifocals back to the eye glass place because I felt the lower part for reading would interfere with climbing ladders. Now I just have to take my near sighted glasses off for book reading…thinking I will soon buy reading glasses…which means two sets of glasses…but I climb ladders all the time and dont want to fall.
Can’t help you with that, jon baker. I’ve worn no line graduated lenses for the last 25 years and have vision at any distance all by pointing with my nose. Takes about a day to get acclimated and then never think about again.
Neo, that was tough to read; having had several unexpected falls myself over the years (including one that cost me a front tooth at the self-conscious age of 16) I literally could feel the pain behind your description. I’m very glad it was no worse.
Being tentative and nervous after such an experience is natural at any age. Try not to read too much into it.
glad your ok.
I’ve seen people die (first hand) from falling down in the street and not getting their hands up to protect their head.
Neo-neocon
Am glad to hear that you survived your fall.
A year ago I broke my arm falling on ice.
As I walk daily, I am convinced that my death will occur when I trip on a sidewalk and fall.
On the other hand, I only drink wine, so I might die in the bathroom due to a fall.
My cat will then go hungry until someone notices the smell and comes into my apartment.
Ain’t life grand?
Anyone else have the floating-otolith problem? Tiny calcifications in one’s semicircular canals, an artifact of middle age, that can brush against the hairs in the canals and throw your balance off … make you queasy in a sailboat when you were never seasick before … make you take the bannister as you descend a flight of stairs, just lightly, as a guide….
They can make you actually dizzy, but you can lie on the floor in a series of poses to get them physically back into the bottom of the semicircular canal. Another falling risk!
Workarounds, workarounds, workarounds…. I saw Dara Torres talking about how she has to train in a completely different way for swimming now that she’s over 40 (BTW, what happened to her at the Olympics?). Made me feel better about my own creeping deficits!
Ah, I see Torres missed qualifying for the US team this time — by less that one-tenth of a second.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-blogs/swimming/dara-torres-misses-out-on-6th-olympic-team.html
It’s still spectacular that she could keep pace with teenagers that way. Amazing. 45 years old.
Very sorry to hear about this… Best wishes for a speedy and full recovery… incidentally, I am not sure that it could happen to anyone but last week the same thing happened to the King of Spain… so you are in good company.
I believe navy uniforms–possibly except for the dress unis–did not, for a long time, include pockets since it was always necessary to have hands free to grab something when/if the ship pitched unexpectedly. Perhaps that was a bigger deal when spending a lot of time on the deck of a sailing ship.
When I walk with others, I gradually, or quickly, get ahead if I’m not paying strict attention. Long legs. So I put my hands either behind my back or in my pockets to slow myself down.
Point is, you might walk more slowly than you are capable of, or less comfortably, than if you had your arms free.
Wishing you a speedy and full recovery!
It was six years ago (to the date no less!) that I was hit by a car while riding a bicycle; while the physical wounds have healed (about 95% back to normal) I cannot ride a bicycle like I used to; the psychological trauma has left me quite fearful of the idiot drivers out there. (the court system has left scars as well)
Hiking in the woods is now my thing; bears and rattlesnakes I can deal with; asinine drivers I cannot.
May this NOT prevent you or slow you down with your walking – enjoy walking to the fullest!
I am a long distance motorcyclist, and I can say from personal experience and the reports of others that the transition from up to down is almost instantaneous. One minute you are up and the next second you are down and sliding. It’s important to dress for the crash before you leave home.
Wow… I’m a little late here because I haven’t been online so often lately.
Its good to hear your healing quick, Neo. I hope you get fully mended up as soon as possible, and feeling better.
So sorry!! I think I know what happened for you to not be able to break your fall, because a similar thing happened to me. I was tripped by a blind man’s cane! Walking at a good pace on a broad, crowded sidewalk on my way to work, I was about to be passed by a blind man with a cane who was traveling in the other direction, coming towards me. I saw him and knew that I was well-away from the arc of the sweep of his cane. Unfortunately, just as we were about to pass each other, he made a hard left turn to go into the building we were passing. I wasn’t looking at him that moment, I was looking and conversing with the person next to me. The man didn’t hesitate or make any effort to make sure he had a clear path before he turned left, he just stuck his cane out there and went for it. I had no warning before the cane tripped me.
I remember that I was just suddenly sailing through the air, as it were. Kinda slow-motion; kinda sickeningly fast. No time at all to really get my arms up. I fell almost completely parallel to the sidewalk. Sort of belly, then head. Didn’t get hurt as badly as you did though, but I can still remember how completely odd it felt to not have time to break my fall. I was 36 at the time, so it certainly wasn’t related to advanced age. Same as you, I couldn’t see the obstacle; the trip was sudden and complete, not a stumble; and my attention was not straight ahead.
I hope you recover quickly, neo.
Mr Frank said:
“It’s important to dress for the crash before you leave home.”
What kind of leathers go well with a green apple?
Glad you’re OK, Neo.
As several have suggested, I’m having to be more careful as I age. Last summer, I “stepped” off my house’s front deck while staining it, found out to my great surprise the ground was further down than I thought, toppled over, rolled into a big aspen tree, and broke several ribs. I still hurt there early in the morning.
Nowadays, I NEVER walk down any stairs without holding onto a rail.
For future reference if you suffer a cut on the face it’s in your interest to go to an emergency room and have a plastic surgeon stitch anything that might leave a scar. The small stitches they use wil preclude the possibility of leaving a mark on the face. This is for cosmetic purposes only and is not required for proper healing. Your insurance should cover it no problem.
A few winters ago my sister and I were walking here in Orange County where, of all things, it actually got cold enough for some ice. My sister hit it and up went her feet and she landed with a whump on her back. I didn’t laugh although I’m sure if we were younger I would have. It was a perfect landing but I was angry. Who put that damned ice there?
Thrity years ago we were playing racquetball. She jumped up and swiped at the ball, missed it, and I kid you not, executed a full sommersault and landed on her back and lay there laughing. I was astonished.
My sister, the hair puller, growing older, slowing down a little, a little more vulnerable, of course, but still who she is and always will be.
Gotta tell you – prepare for people to look askance at that explanation of your injury. Most of them will assume that some brutal male was responsible for its condition.
Why am I so sure? Because I had a similar injury, and I can’t tell you how many took me aside to assure me that I didn’t have to “take it”, and that there were safe places I could go to.
Love your website, LindaF. Keep up the good work!
I express a general sentiment when I say to nature and all others, if you ever hurt Neo, I’ll kill you.
Falls are scary. As an runner, I’ve had a few. In a half-marathon, I tripped on a concrete divider and went down on asphalt and gravel. Scraped knees, hands, face, and shoulder. As I went down, the only thought that flashed through my mind was “will this get in the way of my marathon next month?” Luckily, no structural damage.
My most dangerous fall came when I was picking up the pace on a winter run. I crested a hill, strode out and hit ice. Feet up, head down in a nanosecond. The back of my head hit the asphalt so hard I thought my brains were going to come out my nose. I’d had concussions a few times – rugby is a rough game – so I was worried about that. I wanted to just lay there, but I didn’t want the other runners to crest the hill and see me laid out. So I got up and ran the last two miles a little more carefully. Again, no damage.
Usually, when I take a tumble, I’m able to roll over and land on my shoulder, which makes for a safer and gentler landing. I probably learned to do that as a kid doing wrestling and playing rugby.
One thing you should avoid doing is trying to break your fall with your hands stuck out in front of you. That will set you up a broken wrist or worse. One of my running friends had finished his run on a nasty winter day. He reached into a pocket to get his cell phone, and suddenly lost his footing. He was standing on a patch of black ice. He tried to break his fall with his arm stuck straight down. He ended up tearing his rotator cuff and needed surgery.
My wife took a nasty spill recently. We were walking with a friend and his 5 year old kid on his little bike. He hit a pothole and fell off the bike. My wife tripped over the bike and did a face-plant. Took it mostly on the chin but the bike did nasty things to her legs. She must be as tough as Neo – no structural damage.
Linda F: well, no one’s said that yet—not to my face, anyway :-).
I do think that the fact that my knee is quite banged up would point in another direction.
It was nice to have the great Stuart Scneiderman give his regards. Would that he could replace Dr. Drew.
Tell me more, Occam. I still play softball, and much of the power I used to have at the plate has disappeared. Maybe it’s just old age setting in, but could it be it’s my balance that’s off?
Balance is absolutely key to hitting. If you’re off-balance, you have to tense muscles to stay upright. Tense muscles mean a stiff swing, and hence less power. To see this, assume an exaggeratedly off-balance posture, and try to swing (or throw).
The second aspect, closely coupled to balance, is use of the hips and legs, the source of power (not the arms – they merely deliver the bat). A slight flexing of the knees (necessary for balance) allows you to drive the back knee in (toward the hollow of the front knee) with the full force of the hamstrings, which in turn drives the back hip forward as the back foot rotates (“squashing the bug”). The tensed front leg keeps the front hip from moving forward, converting the hip movement into a rotation.
So far the arms have not moved (surprising to most people: you swing with your torso, not so much with your arms) relative to the body as the hands go through the hitting zone first (“throw the knob of the bat toward the pitcher”), elbows still tight against the body. (Extending your arms toward the plate is called “casting,” and results in a weak, slow swing.)
Only at the last instant, as the ball crosses the plate, do the arms come into play, the top hand snapping the bat into the ball.
It all starts with balance, using the legs, and letting the ball get what seems impossibly deep (toward the catcher) before hitting it. (gain, try exaggerating doing the opposite: stand with legs stiffly upright and try to swing. Or hit the ball out in front of the plate, at the end of the swing, which results in a little love tap.) Think instead of how you would use an ax to chop down a tree. Perfect model
Keys: balance, balance, balance, strong legs (look at Pujols – tree trunks!) and core (do Russian twists for batting), and letting the ball get deep. Then prepare to see outfielders’ numbers, a truly beautiful sight!
(Apologies to everyone else for the lengthy exposition!)
Sorry ’bout your fall, Neo, and I hope your recovery is swift.
I tripped while jogging a couple of years back and broke my collar-bone – ugh. Then my (80 year old) mom told me that only a few years earlier, she had experienced episodes of falling – not stumbling, but just falling – that her doctor told her might be caused by the medication she was taking for high cholesterol.
After changing the medication, she was fine, but she was concerned for me because I’m taking it too.
You never know!
Sorry to hear that! I think it is pretty much a miracle we walk on two legs to begin with. All the different sensations you brain has to make sense of and then adjust to – it seems like a simple thing, but then we all trip and stumble or launch ourselves. Sometimes I get lazy, I guess, and don’t pick up my feet so I trip over the floor. It’s just another way we are reminded we are human.
Sorry to hear this, but glad it wasn’t worse.
It’s amazing how suddenly these things happen. Some years ago, taking one of my children for a college visit in the midwest in winter, I slipped on ice in the parking lot, grabbed at the nearest car to stop my fall, and ended up on my back with my shoulder dislocated, a most uncomfortable condition. That was fun, driving around a strange city trying to find a doctor who could put the shoulder back in place.
One is lucky if such accidents are not life-changing.
I thank you for the lengthy explanation, Occam. I’ve always been a “natural” hitter: I never really thought about it much, I just stepped up to the plate, and took my cuts, whether in baseball through high school, or in softball since then. And I was generally rewarded with a high batting average, lots of extra base hits, and very few strikeouts. Even now, when I go to a batting cage, I sometimes draw stares because I’m often at least twice the age of anyone else there, and I can still connect with the fastest setting on the pitching machine. But my timing–and balance–always seem off now, even in softball, and while I still get on base a lot, I’ve become a singles hitter. And another thing I don’t seem to be able to do now is drive the ball to the opposite field. I’m a left-handed batter, and I used to delight in shooting line drives past surprised third basemen, into the gap in left-center, or sometimes over the left fielder’s head. Now, almost everything I hit is to the right side. My legs are still plenty strong, as are my core muscles, so that should be fine. And you’ve given me some ideas on swing mechanics that I can try. And Neo, I promise I won’t use any more of your bandwidth to try to solve my hitting problems.
Glad to hear you’re healing, and I hope it continues quickly. Sorry to read about this. Be careful, we kinda need you!
Neo – having just fallen off my deck into some branches three days ago, I was interested to read this. I have a badly sprained ankle and branch poke injuries, it’s very painful and I can barely get around.
I don’t really think it’s about getting older, these things happen throughout life, without warning. But we really need to be careful, and wear shoes!
And another thing I don’t seem to be able to do now is drive the ball to the opposite field.
Waltj, keep the front shoulder in – that’s the key. Problems going the other way usually arise from pulling off the ball.
Apologies to neo for burning bandwidth on this. I promise to desist!
Help. I fell flat on my face and because bump on
brow bone is larger than a golf ball went to the dr and he did a brain scan and all is ok there but the lump is still huge and hurts.
How long before it goes away? I have been hiding for a week-face is all black, blue and etc colors.
Thanks.
Gail: black and blue marks will probably take about a month. Swelling will go down quite a bit in that time, but it will probably take many many months for it to go completely away.
Thank you for your quick reply. I fell flat on my face
in front of about everyone I know and am running
out of excuses as to why I am not out and about.
The lump really has me worried in spite of the fact
that I saw a dr.
I enjoy your blog. Thanks again.
I was seeing double when I fell leading with my chin first, then head and alas my body caught up. I wound up with a half of chin beneath my lips with road rash and bruised as well as various bruises on my nose and cheekbones. My knee got a little, bled a lot but was mostly for show. What concerned me was facial scars, loose teeth or jaw. Then the head and lastly my body. I fall often indoors as well and would like to learn to cover my face and teeth as a reflex. Better them than a broken arm. I’m not getting very far.
I fell recently as well, neo. Your description of the fall is beautifully accurate! Thank you. I am becoming sorer tho icing and taking Advil regularly. Feel very foolish and self-blaming but all the comments have really helped. So again, thank you.
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SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME AM 72 TRIPPED OVER SHOES WAS WALKINGFINE BEFORE NOW AFRAID OF WALKING WITHOUT CANE