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Healthy Aging: Everybody falls, so learn to do it right Sunday Feb 5, 2017 at 12:01 AM By Sharon Johnson for the Mail Tribune “Don’t Fall for Me.” That’s the name of a presentation I have given in senior centers, churches and libraries over the last several years. I talk about fall risk and in-home fall prevention in practical (and as someone once told me “very powerful”) terms. If I could place a value on the impact of my words, I would estimate that each time I speak, and there are 10 or more people in the room, I “save” at least $30,000 in the societal and medical cost of falls and fractures. Hubris I know, but bear with me here. I envision “costs avoided and money saved,” because each hospitalized fall averages $30,000 (Centers for Disease Control data, 2015), and I’m fairly positive that at least one person in my audience will harken to what is said and put simple in-home safety measures in play as a result. There is so much attention in our society given to being “safe” right now — why not start at home? That said, I have a new angle on this topic. If you must fall, do it the right way. Keep in mind that one in three older adults will fall, and one in five who fall will break something they would prefer were not broken — or will suffer a life-complicating head injury. A Jan. 25, 2017, article in the New York Times said there's a right way to fall. My husband, who parachuted out of airplanes during his military training, and my brother, who was a helicopter firefighter for years, heartily agree. A physical therapist quoted in the Times article, Jessica Schwartz, said, “It’s almost inevitable you are going to fall, so you really should know how to do it.” Number one: “Protect your head." If you don’t, according to Schwartz, “You’ll hit … like a coconut and get a concussion.” Definitely not a good thing. Many years ago, while riding a bike a little too fast over a gravel railroad trestle, I fell off my bike. The deep dent in my bicycle helmet, which I was fortunately wearing, said it all. The experts suggest, if you find yourself falling, do your best to pivot to your side and tuck your head. “Bend your elbows and knees and try to take the hit in the fleshiest part of your body.” A stuntman and assistant professor of acting, movement and stage combat at the University of Wyoming, Kevin Inouye, says, “Aim for the meat, not the bone.” A decade ago, I fell when a heavy, fast-rolling cart knocked into my ankles and toppled me. I reached out with my hands to try to catch myself and broke my wrist. A wrist is “not forgiving” when you go down on it. The technician who put on my cast said, “You will probably have arthritis in that wrist as you age.“ And I do. I am told the key is “not to fight the fall.” Roll with it, “as paratroopers do.” As martial arts instructors do. The best advice is don’t fall, but if you do, do it right. — Sharon Johnson is a retired Oregon State University associate professor. Reach her at [email protected].