{"id":899,"date":"2020-02-25T10:13:42","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T17:13:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/labs.engineering.asu.edu\/lockhart\/?p=899"},"modified":"2020-02-25T10:33:40","modified_gmt":"2020-02-25T17:33:40","slug":"how-to-fall-on-your-butt-without-breaking-your-neck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/lockhart\/2020\/02\/how-to-fall-on-your-butt-without-breaking-your-neck\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Fall On Your Butt without Breaking Your Neck"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The right way to fall, according to science<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BY&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/author\/editors-mens-health\">THE EDITORS OF MEN\u2019S HEALTH<\/a> Wednesday, January 6, 2016, 3:40 pmFalling on your ass. In theory, it sounds hilarious. It\u2019s the stuff of slapstick. And probably not something you\u2019re all that worried about.You\u2019re quick-footed, right? The only people who need to be nervous about falls are the feeble.Not so, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Their statistics estimate that about 25,000 injuries are caused by people taking a fall in the U.S. every day.Falls account for a staggering 35% of all work-related injuries, and 65% of all lost work days.In other words, you\u2019re more likely to miss work this week because of taking a nose dive onto some pavement or ice than catching the flu.Related: How to Get Through the Flu Season without Taking a Single Sick Day <strong>Thurmon Lockhart<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Ph.D.<\/strong>, a professor of biomedical engineering at Arizona State University, has devoted much of his career to studying human locomotion. He even helped design a slip-training program for UPS delivery drivers. He knows all about the right way to fall.And yes, there absolutely is a right way. Not all falls are the same, says Lockhart. If you manuever your body correctly, the only thing you\u2019ll end up hurting is your ego. But fall the wrong way, and you could end up in the waiting room of an ER.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Follow these four rules, and increase your odds of having a safe landing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1. Walk Like You\u2019re on a Tightrope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether you\u2019re traversing an icy parking lot or a slick office floor, your best defense against a fall is a good defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Make slow, short steps, and extend your arms out to your sides, like you\u2019re walking across a tightrope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Doing this helps maintain you balance, and it positions your arms closer to where they\u2019ll need to be to save you if things go south. And speaking of . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2. Use Your Arms<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s say your feet slip and you begin falling backwards. You\u2019re going to feel helpless, and your first instinct is probably to flail your arms wildly, looking for something to grab onto or to cushion your body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019ll have better luck with a more decisive move: Fling your arms forward and up, so your center of gravity moves forward. This may be enough to stabilize you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If that doesn\u2019t work, it\u2019s time to . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>3. Bring Your Arms to Your Side<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Everything in your body will scream, \u201dCushion the fall with your hands!\u201d It\u2019s a natural instinct to think you can somehow catch yourself before you hit the ground. Isn\u2019t that what they do in all the martial arts movies?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You should resist that instinct. Instead, lower your arms to your sides. Especially if you\u2019re falling backwards. That\u2019s how guys end up breaking their wrists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Related: 20 Little Changes For a Healthier Life<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If your arms are at your side, that\u2019s what will hit the ground first, before your hips. And that\u2019s exactly what you want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wrists and hips break far too easily. Your arms will fare much better, especially if you tense up before the impact. Tense muscles protect ligaments and bones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Related: Try the 21-Day MetaShred\u2014the Cutting-Edge Fat-Loss System That Will Banish Your Belly and Build Rock-Hard Muscle<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>4. Try to Land on Your Butt<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you can help it, land flat on your rear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And then, in a single, smooth motion, roll onto your hip\u2014the one opposite your slipping leg\u2014to help diffuse the force of the fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you\u2019re falling forward and there\u2019s no way of directing your fall towards your ass, try to fall into a pushup position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019ll avoid a nasty head (or face) injury, and your bent elbows will reduce impact on your wrists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Original Article: <\/strong>http:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/health\/right-way-to-fall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">The right way to fall, according to science BY&nbsp;THE EDITORS OF MEN\u2019S HEALTH Wednesday, January 6, 2016, 3:40 pmFalling on your ass. In theory, it sounds hilarious. It\u2019s the stuff of slapstick. And probably not something you\u2019re all that worried about.You\u2019re quick-footed, right? The only people who need to be nervous about falls are the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-posts"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/lockhart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/lockhart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/lockhart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/lockhart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/lockhart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/lockhart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/lockhart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/lockhart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.engineering.asu.edu\/lockhart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}