What was the cause of this fall and what is the prevention?

It doesn’t sound like cause for alarm. When you say “fell down”, do you mean stumbled or tripped? Reading your comments, I get the impression that you simply were distracted and not aware of your footing. As it is, it sounds as though you’re in good condition, since you managed to hop up quickly more concerned about embarrassment than physical damage. It sounds like a one time thing, and clearly you had the necessary reflexes and agility to handle it.

stanley, I don’t know the difference between “stumbled” and “tripped.” It happened so fast that I think I tripped over one of my feet. lol And getting up was fairly fast but it wasn’t all that easy. If not for my occasional “downward dog” I’m not so sure I could have gotten up!
I wonder if a twelve year old would have fallen just from staring up the street? I doubt it. Thank you, Stanley. Love your Fluther name.

Sidewalks are notorious for shifting and pitching. I am guessing when you averted your gaze to the new house up the street you simply tripped over a joint in the sidewalk. THe double bruises on your knees bears this out. “Step on a crack and breaqk your mama’s back” came true. Obviously to prevent a recurrence just watch where you are stepping. If you feel there was something more involved in this episode…by all means share this with your Doctor.

Not to scare you and I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t share this….but something similar happened to my mom last spring that she brushed off as a “moment” and 6 months later she was dead from a brain tumor.

@Cruiser well, that was uplifting! The sidewalk is completely level but there are one inch spaces in-between each section. I just don’t know for sure why it happened.

How do you prevent it? As a general rule, pay attention to where you are going. Watch the road/sidewalk in front of you. If you’re going to look at something 90 degrees to one side or the other – stop – turn – look – turn back – continue walking.

Two benefits there – less likelihood of tripping over something on the sidewalk as well as decreased likelihood of torquing your back.

__

My dad did a similar thing on a trip to Germany a decade or so ago. Turned to look at an ambulance driving past – tripped over a cobblestone – fell. The ambulance he’d been looking at come back and waited with him til an ambulance for the right jurisdiction came to pick him up. He had to have stitches inside and outside of his mouth. Looks like he has a dueling scar on his chin. He had a nice set of black eyes as well.

@Aster Honestly I do believe you were tripped up by your gaze to the side and all it takes is one lazy drag of the foot and down you go. Has happened to me my whole life. Sorry to have share the unfun part of my mom….but in hindsight she was the epitome of health….played golf 3 times a week and the one dizzy spell 6 months earlier is a second guess me and my sibs scratch our heads over is all. Have a fab Sunday.

@Cruiser you fall to the ground as an adult ? How often? I would have died of embarrassment had anybody seen me.

@BellaB that is terrible! I’d never trust myself to be walking amongst rocks. And to fall right on your face must be horrifying as well as terribly painful !

@Aster I am in constant motion so it is merely a matter of odds that I greet the ground in unexpected fashion. Usually though it involves a similar situation where my gaze is focused elsewhere than where I am going. This morning I was carrying my kayak up 34 stairs to get it up to the garage for winter storage and since the kayak over my head concealed my line of sight…I missed a step and now have a nice bruise to show for it.

@Cruiser , no way you’re in constant motion! Are you a goldfish? You’re sitting down at the computer now, right? LOL ! But I’m sorry you fell on the stairs. Although you could have fallen all the way to the first step! That’s what would have happened to me!

In the days of wearing Docs I used to trip and fall occasionally. My mother was right, the boots were too heavy and I wasn’t lifting my feet high enough to get over tiny cracks/crevasses. It takes very little to trip and fall. Adults do it all the time.

http://www.learnnottofall.com/content/fall-facts/national-health-priority.jsp

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-624-x/2011001/article/11506-eng.htm#a4

The main causes of injuries were falls and overexertion (Chart 5). This is noteworthy since falls are the most common cause of injury hospitalizations in Canada. While about half (50%) of injuries among adolescents resulted from a fall, this proportion was even higher among seniors (63%). Injuries that occurred during sports activities were mainly caused by falls. Sports accounted for three in five falls among adolescents.

Falls in seniors, on the other hand, were more often the result of tripping or stumbling while walking or doing household chores (See Box 2 – Seniors and falls). Injuries caused by overexertion or strenuous movements were almost twice as frequent in working-age adults (27%) as in seniors (14%) and adolescents (15%) (Appendix 8)

@BellaB that did it. I was wearing slippers and I am determined to buy a pair of great fitting tennis shoes I can wear all day long!

@Aster No I am a shark as they have to keep moving in order to breathe.

HAHAAA!! A shark sitting at a computer.

@Aster have Ipad will travel! ;)

You are just forgetting, and it betrays your age. 12 year olds fall down “for a living” Truthfully, from my memory, falling and bumping into shit was a matter of routine. And then there’s the wonderful example of my daughter granted me by heaven to enrich the bandaid people and be enshrined as champion in the waiting room at the former Presbyterian hospital where the entire staff knew her by name, voted her champion, and referred to the room as the “michelle” wing

What have I forgotten? I haven’t forgotten falling down as a kid and having a bandaid on my knee! I’m not betraying anything. I’m old as dirt. I merely felt falling down as an adult was unusual because I have never seen anyone on the ground except for my husband. Why, do you see people crashed to the ground every quarter mile? On second thought , I did see my mother on the kitchen floor once. Life is grand.

Simply put @Aster Gravity is a bitch and why you need to always have ice packs in the freezer.

Why would we need ice packs when the swelling was gone by morning? Besides; the frozen ice would have killed the burning skin. Why did it burn? I have no idea.

Well, watch where you’re going! Do you really not understand why you fell?

@Aster, I’m glad you’re okay after your fall and only your pride and knee were damaged. Have you been feeling unstable when you sit up suddenly or stand quickly? Sometimes if you have vertigo a sudden movement can send you tumbling very quickly. Or perhaps you just tripped on that gap in the paving.

Have you had a bone density test? I know a relative of mine is in her late 60s and she’s never had one. I think it’s a good idea. It’s standard here after you’re 50. That way there will be a base level of the state of your bones. Better to know what condition your bones are in. It will help to identify potential future problems.

In the meantimes, I hope you’re doing okay and this was just a trip.

@Earthbound_Misfit She just wasn’t watching where she was going. I mean, she was trying to walk with her head turned as far to the right as it would go, like the exorcist. She thinks she tripped over her own feet.

Actually @Dutchess_III, she doesn’t know what caused her fall. Read the last part of her question.

Right here she said, “It happened so fast that I think I tripped over one of my feet. lol.”

Are you referring her question, at the end of the details, of how to prevent it? The answer is, watch where you’re going. When my daughter was 18 months old she was running and running looking off to the side and ran into a tree! It happened so fast I couldn’t catch her.

@Dutchess_III, obviously your interpretation must be right! I’m sorry my response to @Aster doesn’t meet with your approval. However, I’m answering what @Aster asked. “What was the cause of this fall and what is the prevention?” and “Is this a balance problem? How do I prevent this? TIA!”

My interpretation is that @Aster is still unsure why she fell. She may have tripped over her feet, but she could most definitely have experienced a balance problem and especially if she turned her head very quickly. Hence my question about whether she has experienced any balance issues previously. Now I am leaving the question.

She had her head craned to the right, as far as it would go, looking at a house down the road. while walking! That would make me trip too!

When I was about 12 I was walking along in front of a store, looking at something much that same way, with my head craned far to the right. I walked smack into a pole and my glasses cut my eye at the eyebrow. I still have the scar. How could I have prevented that?

Humans really aren’t well proportioned. We have a high center of gravity and two thin, wobbly stalks to support our mass. It doesn’t take much to throw us off balance.

@Dutchess_III Not sure it would be preventable but will wager you never did that again.

Nope, never did it again! Ergo, it was prevented, @Cruiser.

Right @Darth_Algar. Her inner ear was thrown off of paying attention to her feet.