How often do you fall over?

[GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat]

I fall over quite a lot and wondering how common this is? When I say a lot, it's certainly enough that people comment in it. Maybe 2/3 times a year. I'm 40. Usually graze my knee and hands, occasionally sprain an ankle or hurt my wrist. Nothing awful but I'm pretty heavy so it hurts and I often need a minute to catch my breath before I get up.

I fall over regularly. Probably once a week. I’m hyper mobile (so my ankles roll) and I’m dyspraxic. I’ve always fallen over loads and was labelled a “clumsy child”.

Outside the house, I honestly can't remember the last time.
But I fall up the stairs, on the stairs and down the stairs … probably every other week minimum. I trip over my kids, the doorstep, the washing. Slip on spilt water that my kids have just left ...

2/3 times a year, Sometimes I manage to catch myself so I don’t always hit the ground completely. For me it’s usually a combination of rolling my ankle and sheer lack of attention, but occasionally I just seem to have zoned out for a minute.

It’s always happened and in my 60s I try to be more careful!

Never. I'm 48.
I walk and run.

If you are worried about it you should discuss it with your GP rather than asking on here.

I speak as someone who used to fall quite a lot for no apparent reason. I'm much better now but I had to give up my dream of tightrope walking.

OP have a look at proprioception (?), stability etc.

Try exercises at home to build up ankle strength and balance- things like standing on one leg. Hold on to something, lightly, and build up the time you can sustain the hold. Swap legs. Build up to doing it with your eyes closed.

Or join Pilates/yoga classes.

It's well worth doing- you're young, you need to work on it before age makes it worse.

I am 46 and i would fall maybe 10\12 a year.
I have fallen over 3 times in the last 4 weeks
Once I missed a step down in my friends kitchen. Twisted ankle and massive bruise on my arm

Trip over a bag in the hall, fell on to 3 bikes and got stuck. Really sore knee, bruise on my knee and bum

Missed step going upstairs, grazed knee and chin

Oh, I am in strenght and conditioning gym for years

I fall over a lot - a couple of times a month. I'm in my 50s. I have a medical condition that has caused me to be unsteady on my feet and I usually manage to land without hurting myself. Odd exceptions when I face-planted concrete and another time when I ended up at a&e and have been taken aside at work and asked if everything was ok at home.

One of my knees gives way sometimes, but I can't remember the last time I fell. Probably when the pavement was icy.

All the fucking time.

I do yoga and have excellent balance, as I rule. And very good core strength.

But I'm a clumsy bitch. Could be dyspraxia. Could be nothing.

"My ankles are weak and it's often rolling over in them that causes it."

Something can be done about that. Ask your GP for a referral to a Falls Clinic, they're run by physiotherapists. They can give you balance exercises, ankle exercises, check to see if there are any other causes.

Falls are important because of what you can damage when you land. For older women with weaker bones a fall risks a broken hip, and it's downhill all the way from that point on.

Never really, I think I have a low centre of gravity being short.

I remember the last time I fell over in fact, it was about 3 years ago. My husband had left the hosepipe in a pile outside the side door where I carry my basket of washing out to the line. I didn't see it because of the basket in front of me trod on it and went over on my ankle. It took me a minute or so to catch my breath and gather my strength to get back on my feet.

I fall once every couple of months, but I have am underlying medical condition which affects my balance. I'm only in my 30s and I do find it quite embarrassing - people who don't know my medical history can be quite judgemental.

I'm early 40s and I fell over nothing while out running in a busy place about 10 years ago. It was very embarrassing and I was surprised how much the grazed knee and hands hurt- things that my kids seemed to do on a weekly basis!
I also slipped over on ice when running but apart from that I can't remember falling over as an adult.

I fall a lot, it's a standing joke here. I have very large boobs though so can't see where I put my feet, every uneven dip in the ground is a hazard.
The worst time for me was when I was pregnant, I used to fall downstairs a lot.

Falling randomly a few times times a year for an otherwise healthy adult should be checked out by the GP. Some people will just be clumsy, others can be underlying issues.

I would say I've fallen 5 times in 20years, and can remember them all!

Please don't Google though, there are many different reasons for falls.

I’ve fallen over a couple of times running in the last few years. I tripped over a stone and a tree root (don't run in the dark!).

I do trip quite often as I’m clumsy and don't look where I’m going, but it doesn't turn into a fall.

I'm 60 and I think I have fallen twice in the last 30 years.
Once while walking in the hills and I tripped on a tussock, and once when pushing a car and the engine started quicker than I expected.
So very infrequently.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat - this may be nothing to worry about, or it could be a medical issue.

But you won't know until you talk to your physician.

I'm 30 and fall over fairly regularly. It's as though my knees/ankles/legs just give and it happens very quickly, before I have a chance to save myself. I also regularly bump in to doors, door handles and stub my toes all the time. My shins and arms are covered in bruises
I do have a few medical conditions but my consultant hasn't seemed bothered by my regularly falling.

55 and hardly ever. Last time was on black ice on a sloping path a couple of years ago, feet went straight out from under me. The time before was about 7 years ago when I tripped over a kerb because I was looking at my phone and landed in a hedge

I'm 58. I've fallen twice in the last 12 months - both times when I've been out walking in the countryside. On one occasion I'd got my foot caught in a bramble which didn't move when I moved forwards - so I landed on my front. On the other occasion I stepped onto mud only to find it was deeper than I thought and there was a hole in that particular bit of path. On both occasions fortunately it was only my ego that was wounded! I don't fall over just walking around on tarmac paths.

I fall quite a lot but I do have dystonia in my left foot, my foot has a mind of its own and pulls down , toes drag that’s why I fall.

I'm mid thirties and the same height and shoe size as you. Also possibly do have hypermobility in my joints and I get heart palpitations too. I almost never fall over. It sounds very unusual to me. I think the last time I fell fully over was during lockdown when I was pratting around with my husband and he accidentally tripped me up. Before that it was when I was drunk ten years earlier! I think it's something you should investigate, you could end up becoming badly injured.