Adventures in falling down

I made it through most of a day walking around an icy parking lot recently and then about 10mins before leaving, cautiously put a foot on some smooth, wet glare ice and violently ate E36 M3 in a way you wouldn't think was possible without at least one skateboard.

Funny thing is I didn't hurt myself on that one, but a couple of instances of sliding forward on the ice (like Sonic the Hedgehog does when you "hit the brakes" on him) seemed to pull something in the back of my left knee, that hurt for a good 4 days or so...

I have drop foot and an ankle like a blown out tie rod end. Braces 24-7. But I played hockey goalie for 10 years so I know how to fall. Still, last year I caught the edge of a step in the house, and went down hard, breaking the pinky toe. THAT was painful.

I suggest the Patton Oswalt routine about getting hurt. Why? Because he turned fifty.

Performance continues to improve, appearance continues to decline.

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

Performance continues to improve, appearance continues to decline.

A solid description of me in my 30's. 

Not quite the thread I thought it would be based on the title,  but...

Bro really put pictures of his feet on the internet for free

AMiataCalledSteve said:

Bro really put pictures of his feet on the internet for free

Makes you want to see more, right?!?!

Ah... as a mountain biker, I have many adventures in falling down.  But now in my 50's, I do try to avoid it as I simply don't bounce like I used to.  Still... I had an amusing(?) fall this past Sunday after a friend ahead of me rode through a fallen branch, then said branch swung back towards me and got caught up in my bike.  As the branch bent, it slowly stopped the forward motion of the bike, but as we were descending at some speed, my own momentum did not stop.  

"I can ride through this... I can ride through this... oh crap... I'm not riding through this..."  ...and over the bars I went...   It was all kind of funny to me so I had started laughing before I had finished falling.  Slightly sore and a few scrapes but no lasting injuries.  Sunday night and Monday I felt really sore, but better today.  Still don't know if it'll bruise.

The really funny part was the reactions from my riding friends.  We're all getting up there in years (youngest in this group is late 40's) so any falls happen with fear.   But coming from DH racing, I probably have more experience falling off my bike than all of them combined, so I'm generally pretty good at doing it and not getting seriously hurt.

Hopefully, the ankle heals up without too much trouble.  

How far did your foot roll? The ligament that connects to the back of the fifth metatarsal will break the bone if it goes too far. That looks a lot like mine did when I had that happen

superfund said:

How far did your foot roll? The ligament that connects to the back of the fifth metatarsal will break the bone if it goes too far. That looks a lot like mine did when I had that happen

IDK, i was focused on the landing.  :-D

if i had to guess, i'd say "as far as it could."

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

Oof, I can feel that from here.   I rolled an ankle playing pick up basketball in college that bruised like that.  Be aware that your ankle may be a lot less stable (more likely to roll again) in the future. That's been my experience, your mileage may vary.  Hope you're back at it soon.   

OK.....is there a youtube video on the best way for older GRMers to fall down ?

We are all going to do it one day , better to have an idea what to do in that split second :)

Cheers

In reply to californiamilleghia :

Watch gymnasts do their floor routines. Or watch Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners train. They even call it "rolling".

53 here, the last time I fell was due to very broken in slip-on Vans and in a very wet, downhill dog pen a squirrel gets seen...55# Boxer yards my feet from under me before I got the leash off.  Vans were muddy, pant cuffs and hands too. Somehow I saved it, probably hockey and BMX, but I was dang sore for the next week.

In reply to californiamilleghia :

To be honest, falling and not getting hurt is a skill and like any skill needs to be practiced.  I had gymnastics back in grade school and those rolling exercises have stuck with me almost 50 years later. When I fall I instinctually tuck and roll.  Like any crash, it's not the fall - it's the sudden stop that gets you - so the more time it takes to fall, the lower the chances of injuries. Experience with falling a few times per year also means I generally don't tense up, which can also exacerbate the chance of injuries. 

Does the local Y have an adult gymnastics class? 

californiamilleghia said:

OK.....is there a youtube video on the best way for older GRMers to fall down ?

We are all going to do it one day , better to have an idea what to do in that split second :)

Cheers

So you'all might be interested in investing in my business?

Rub dirt on it

I really worry about finding the gopher hole with my name on it :)

a friend  found his at Laguna Seca vintage races a couple years ago and it's still not right , yes he was 70 pounds overweight which did not help the healing and rehab

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

Performance continues to improve, appearance continues to decline.

There is a joke about a guy that looked horrible but felt great...

This is why I sold all my ladders at 65.  And don't worry about a broken metatarsal, you would not be able to walk if it broke.  BTDT at 32 and even then I was on crutches for a week.

I hate to resurrect this thread, but it's my turn (so to speak).

I've been jumping off that concrete step for over 5 years, and it finally caught up to me.  Rolled to my right and landed on grass.  I think it's just a sprain.