Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Feminism: chat

Original poster

Risky behavior during stair descent for young adults: Differences in men versus women (Research about sex differences you never knew you needed to know)

63 replies

IwantToRetire · 01/08/2023 01:20

Previous research has demonstrated that average injury rate of stair-related falls has a trimodal distribution with a peak for young adults in their 20’s, with women in their 20’s sustaining about 80% more injuries than men of the same age.

The purpose of this study was to quantify young adult behaviors during staircase descent, with the goal of identifying behaviors that increase fall risk on stairs, and to determine if young women are more likely to demonstrate these risky behaviors. Young adults engaged in behaviors that may increase fall risk, including not using the handrail, carrying items, using electronic devices, holding a conversation, and wearing footwear that increases fall risk.

Women demonstrated several behaviors that increase their fall risk relative to men: less likely to use the handrail, more likely to be holding something in their hands, more likely to be engaged in conversation, more likely to wear sandals and heels, and they demonstrated a higher number of co-occurring risky behaviors.

However, women also engaged in behaviors that may be protective of fall risk: less likely to skip steps and more likely to look at the stair tread during transition steps.

Overall, the observed sex-related differences are strengthened by the inclusion of both short and long staircases since similar sex-related effects were observed on both staircases.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0288438

The published article is quite long and so has much more information, but I still couldn't work out why the research had happened.

Risky behavior during stair descent for young adults: Differences in men versus women

Injuries commonly occur on stairs, with high injury rates in young adults, especially young women. High injury rates could result from physiological and/or behavioral differences; this study focuses on behaviors. The purposes of this observational stud...

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0288438

OP posts:
Original poster
IwantToRetire · 01/08/2023 17:09

Just to say I think the examples of what happens at home are really interesting, and do seem to have a sort of shared theme - sadly. :(

OP posts:
Original poster
IwantToRetire · 01/08/2023 16:52

AS someone pointed out upthread the research is about public stairs and I acknowledge that I helped derail / divert away from that.

So from what I skim read of the report it didn't for instance say if it was women in groups or mixed groups. I wonder if that would be different. Because apart from unsensible shoes is that women dont want to carry a cluncky satchel type thing and have bundles of books / files that slip around. Or is it that men have pockets and women dont, so are more likely to carry things.

But what it did remind me off was an incident some years ago.

Was on the escalators of a tube station, it wasn't late but definitely after work hours. I heard a group of women being quite merry and joking and then there was a shriek.

And in a way that had the shown it in a film I would have thought was impossible, this youngish woman in a smart casual dress had fallen face down and was literally surfing down the escalator as though it was a water slid. Laughing. I froze in fear, and have to say no one on the escalator pressed the stop button. (Shame on all of us)

But immediately behind her another woman was running down the escalator in unsuitable footwear and got to her friend who was now at the bottom of the escalator still giggling. Her friend, really quickly scooped all her hair up into a sort of bunch, which might seem odd but in fact I later worked out was to stop it being dragged under by the escalator. This could have lead to something really horrible.

So the friend with pony tail in one hand, just managed (as she was laughing too) to haul her friend up onto her feet and off the escalator, where they were joined by a third friend. They all just stood there laughing while the rest of us were open mouthed and stunned.

I've always remembered it because it could have been really nasty. But also because of the way the women were with each other, in such a supportive way.

I hope its alright to say that drink may have been taken.

(Its funny even just typing this and my stomach has gone into a knot because it was really frightening to see. But also those of us who were sober did not do anything.)

OP posts:
StillPerplexed · 01/08/2023 11:03

DudeItsPrawns · 01/08/2023 10:53

A friend of mine broke her arm falling up the stairs whilst carrying a pile of ironing. She said she'd spent hours ironing it and didn't want to crease it.

I guess breaking your arm also saves you from doing ironing in the months afterwards as well!

DudeItsPrawns · 01/08/2023 10:53

A friend of mine broke her arm falling up the stairs whilst carrying a pile of ironing. She said she'd spent hours ironing it and didn't want to crease it.

flyingbuttress43 · 01/08/2023 10:49

I fell down the stairs when I was 8 months pregnant. Bounced all the way from top to bottom. But instinctively managed to do it on my bottom. As I landed the baby went into a torrent of kicking. T'was actually quite painful. I just imagined her thinking "My God, what's she up to now?

WonderingWanda · 01/08/2023 09:26

I'm an anomaly. I'm mid 40's and my bloody cat trips me up on the stairs every morning trying to get my attention because he hasn't been fed yet.

Pixiedust1234 · 01/08/2023 09:17

Has anyone else paid attention to how many couples you see out and about where the woman is carrying all the heavy stuff and the man is strolling along unencumbered?
Yes. I'm the ill one with a bluebadge and walking stick and I'm still the person who ends up carrying the shopping bag while he strides off empty handed. Now I just stand at the shop exit and wait for him to come back. He's starting to notice other people looking at him and he doesn't like it, but yeah I was the child, buggy, shopping bag donkey while he had the oh so heavy car keys.

BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn · 01/08/2023 09:09

No idea why you wouldn't want to click on an academic article, but the answer is:

"Falls on stairs occur across the lifespan [14–16]; average injury rate of stair-related falls in the United States demonstrates a trimodal distribution with peaks at ≤ 3 years of age, young adults in their 20’s, and adults ≥ 85 years [16].

Risky behavior during stair descent for young adults: Differences in men versus women

Injuries commonly occur on stairs, with high injury rates in young adults, especially young women. High injury rates could result from physiological and/or behavioral differences; this study focuses on behaviors. The purposes of this observational stud...

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0288438#pone.0288438.ref014

Codlingmoths · 01/08/2023 09:05

I want to know what the third mode of this trimodal distribution is. But I don’t want to click the article ☹️

SmartHome · 01/08/2023 09:00

That videomis hilarious. I've just sent it to do and my teenage boys. Anyone married to a woman or with daughters, does this still happen?

CheeseChamp · 01/08/2023 08:57

Have fallen down the stairs a couple of times and wouldn't recommend it. Both times in a rush - another thing that women are perhaps prone to?

I wonder if the not looking down at the steps thing is from the expectation placed on us to glide down stairs magnificently like they do in old films. Notice how presenters wearing tall heels get a handhold from a strong armed man when they have to step off the stage these days.

Pashazade · 01/08/2023 08:55

The stuff on the stairs issue put to music. 😁
DH is the one who injures himself in our house, but that's just walking up and down, he's never carrying anything!

SmartHome · 01/08/2023 08:48

123ZYX · 01/08/2023 07:23

I assume the "things" being carried by women in their early 20s are often babies. Women will get more seriously injured in those cases because they will deliberately fall to protect the baby instead of themself.

This is exactly what happened to me when I fell.down stairs and broke my coxyx! Was carrying my newborn, wearing socks in a rented house with stupid slippy stair carpet and feet went out from under me. Baby was fine, I was in agony for weeks. I think I was rushing as was tidying up as someone was coming round to view the house, organised by estate agents for about 3 days after I had given birth.

This is so totally about women carrying things on the stairs which men do way less of.

nobodygoesdowninthejungle · 01/08/2023 08:45

DH was genuinely baffled after DC1 was born why I was no longer bringing my empty tea mug downstairs. It didn't seem to occur to him that I was carrying a baby each time I went up & down the stairs and could only use the stairs gingerly anyway due to birth related injuries.

FigRollsAlly · 01/08/2023 08:24

I am feeling really sad about those poor maids now. Coming down steep attic stairs, holding a candle because they had to get up when it was still dark, and probably hindered by tiredness from the hard physical labour of all the previous days.

LoobiJee · 01/08/2023 08:19

This is interesting, early in the thread I thought of my friend who fell down the stairs while pregnant, and then read on to see lots of similar examples.

Has anyone else paid attention to how many couples you see out and about where the woman is carrying all the heavy stuff and the man is strolling along unencumbered? If there’s a baby to be carried the mother will be carrying it, if there’s a backpack full of baby stuff to be carried the woman will be carrying it. I look at all these taller, stronger, not-dealing-with-the-after-effects-of-pregnancy husbands and wonder what goes through their minds when they are parading about like that, hands in pockets with the mother of their children looking like a little packhorse alongside them.

EdithStourton · 01/08/2023 08:07

123ZYX · 01/08/2023 07:23

I assume the "things" being carried by women in their early 20s are often babies. Women will get more seriously injured in those cases because they will deliberately fall to protect the baby instead of themself.

Did, that, but was about 30. I was wearing knackered old slippers ('they'll do, the kids' shoes matter more, we need to save for the extension...'), lost my footing on very steep stairs while carrying a baby, with a selflessness I never knew I had held the baby really protectively, slid on my arse and back all the way down. Amazingly I escaped with nothing more than bruises, and the baby was fine and giggling.

Combo of undervaluing myself and being the one at home with the DC

OrderOfTheKookaburra · 01/08/2023 07:57

I fell down the stairs while holding DS2 because I was rushing after DS2 had a nappy explosion right at school pickup time for DS1. DS2 was ok, mothering instincts took over and I fell into my back and held him on top of me as I slid down the stairs. Ripped most of my tendons and ligaments in my ankle. DS1 ended up being picked up very late!

My ex would NEVER have been in that position.

Firstly he would just have gone in late and wouldn't have rushed. Secondly the chances of him being responsible for both DSs at the same time at school pick up time was vanishingly rare.

Hibiscrubbed · 01/08/2023 07:56

I nearly fell down the stairs the other day. Fully pregnant. Carrying the laundry basket of dirty clothes. Balance was off.

BlossomCloud · 01/08/2023 07:52

Heels are such a stupid invention. and I say that as someone who bought and wore a lot of pairs in my twenties!

I stopped wearing them when I watched our then leadership team at work walking down the stairs and the women were all wearing six inch heels and teetering slowly down the stairs and the men were striding past in flats. I've worn flats to work ever since.(and am now part of the leadership team)

Men rarely wear anything other than sensible shoes, women even if not wearing heels are far more likely to wear something like sliders /wedges/flip flops

Having said that,. I wouldn't have thought that was much of a thing at university perhaps mainly based on my experience of walking a fair distance to lectures so needing to be in trainers.

ApocalipstickNow · 01/08/2023 07:51

I’m going to stop telling my daughter off for sliding down the bannister- she may be being more sensible than me! 😂

FourTeaFallOut · 01/08/2023 07:47

I read somewhere that when women fall down the stairs they prioritise the safety of the object they are holding, even if that thing is unimportant and the theory was that all women, regardless of whether they have children, have an instinct to act as though it is an infant when falling and will jeaopordise their entire safety to cocoon it.

It could be bollocks, I certainly couldn't reference it.

StillPerplexed · 01/08/2023 07:38

123ZYX · 01/08/2023 07:23

I assume the "things" being carried by women in their early 20s are often babies. Women will get more seriously injured in those cases because they will deliberately fall to protect the baby instead of themself.

That might be a good theory if this was a study about home accidents... but it took place in a university building where usually there aren't that many babies! The main factor seemed to be women were more likely to be carrying stuff (not wearing a backpack) and walking with a friend or talking on the phone, both of which prevented them grabbing a handrail.

Wazzzzzuuuuuuup · 01/08/2023 07:34

Yep, I fell downstairs recently and ruptured my ankle. I was carrying a massive pile of everybody else's dirty clothes for the wash.

123ZYX · 01/08/2023 07:23

I assume the "things" being carried by women in their early 20s are often babies. Women will get more seriously injured in those cases because they will deliberately fall to protect the baby instead of themself.