It's happened. I've 'had a fall'.

[Strawbag]

I haven't fallen over in years. I think the last time was holding baby ds and I tried to step over the baby gate, but being young and agile I managed to save ds and most of myself.

Today I was coming back in from the garden and I'm not sure if I missed the step or my foot slid off but I came crashing down like a felled tree, taking the bin with me and almost crushing ddog to death. Most of my weight went on my knee that is very stiff and sore now, as well as a bruised foot and dented pride. It was quite a while before I could get back up again.

I feel a bit weird now and almost, vulnerable? Like I can no longer just spring back up and shake it off. Oh, the joys of getting older 🙄

Yes turning quickly will do it vertigo is horrible

I was out for a walk last year and tripped over a dip in the footpath. My glasses fell into the road, landed on my knees and bashed my left hand and my chin. My first thought was save my glasses - well they had cost over £180 - then I managed to roll over onto my back and sit up. I was then stuck as there was no way I could get up as my knees were so painful. I was so embarrassed.

A woman stopped her car near me and offered to help me up but I still couldn’t move. Fortunately an ambulance drove past on the way to the local carnival and they stopped and two very fit paramedics came and got me into a standing position. I then had to ring my husband to rescue me as there was no way I could get home.

I was given an Apple Watch for my 70th birthday last year which asks if you have had a fall and if you don’t respond within 30 seconds dials your emergency contacts. My children decided I was old and would probably have a fall!

I don't know if this counts as A Fall as it could be seen to be self inflicted - I tend to sit with one leg tucked underneath me, the lower half of my leg went to sleep/dead but I needed to get up and thought I could walk it off, but it was completely numb and my foot was weirdly flapping as I tried to walk and down I went like a sack of shit, heard a weird crunching sound in my ankle and it hurt, boy did it hurt. I am now very wary of just leaping up I wait until I am sure my lower leg is awake.

Following a car accident 25 years ago I've had some weakness on my left side and I have fallen over dozens of times. The last spectacle 18mths ago was falling over walking slightly down hill I had my thumb through my handbag strap and wasn't quick enough to save myself so face planted the pavement cut my forehead open and knocked myself out. I buggered my knee again ( already 3 surgeries due to falls ) tomorrow at 54 I'm going in for a full knee replacement. I'm at the point that Falls are part of my life and will walk with a stick for security after this op.
Sadly the amount of people that assume that you're drunk if you fall in public is shocking.

I was walking the dogs in the winter one early morning and didn't realise that the stile I was climbing over was covered in ice and slippery. I banged forward onto the wood banging my chest, then went sideways into a thorny hedge. Took me a good 60 seconds to process what had happened, and the dogs were stood looking at me as if to say what the fuck are you doing? Made me feel really weird and I walked home very slowly! My lovely DD's nearly wet themselves laughing when I recounted the sorry tale, and asked if I needed to walk with a zimmer from now on ........ I'm 52

I have felt like this too. I fell upstairs with my trousers half down (going from my parents downstairs loo to get loo roll from the bathroom!) I broke my leg and ended up having surgery and in hospital for 2 weeks, I was early 30s and they did a bone density test as the break was so bad, but my bone density was fine.

2 years later i broke the same leg tripping up a kerb in Cyprus.

Then last year I fell in London, tripped over nothing and grazed my leg badly, we were in Harley street, my DD was having a procedure done and the doctor looked at my leg while i was there and put a plaster on it.

Then more recently with my DS in a lovely pub. My son, said, watch these stairs there slippery, but too late I feel top to bottom down the old stair case in this lovely pub. I didnt hurt myself too badly that time, a bruised bum.

Then a little while later going for a walk with my family I fell down a gap by a tree root in front of lots of people watching a cricket match.

I share your anxiety about having a fall, I am 58 now but I have been falling over all my life, just clumsy I guess :(

I fell last year, it was a huge shock. I have put it down to rushing around, doing too much at once and trying to be all things to all
people. It is a reminder to slow down, look after yourself and take time or something will happen that will be a whole lot worse.

Oh there was one other fall I forgot, I fell top to bottom of my stairs and banged my head so hard I got a cartoon bump appear. I remember telling my family where my savings were, I was convinced that was it for me! The paramedics immobilized my neck/head and I was taken out on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance and hospital but I lived to tell the tale.

I think it runs in my family too, my DS was about 10 and my DSIS had taken him swimming, he fell down the leisure centre steps, but rather than admit he had had an accident, he looked at my DSIS and said "I meant to do that!!"

Oh I have had some corkers!
The most awful when I was really young was falling out of a tree onto a broken bottle.

When I was 21 years old my father died. I lived 150 miles from home and I didn't have a telephone. My cousin rang my next door neighbour and I tried to jump over the fence to get there quickly.
I cut my knee and hands to shreds.
These were definitely falling! ☺️

Menopause and the years since have been fun.
I fell over in Fillimore in San Francisco, right at the top of one of their vertiginous hills. Again cut my knee open, blood everywhere.
Rescued by a wonderful teacher who saw me through the window and came out with cloths, wipes and plasters and compassion.
In Greece I walked into a tree and knocked myself out.😳

The worse one has been tearing the meniscus of my right knee. It was awful and has had so many side effects as it threw all of my body out of kilter.
I have chronic osteoarthritis so I am in constant pain.

I am very reluctant to visit a friend with two very big and very bouncy dogs as I absolutely dread another injury.

Just part of life's rich tapestry I guess but I share the fear of " having a fall" with all of you on here.

Me and DH were doing the school run together with our DS'.
I'd just gotten a new jacket and was feeling so confident.
We were holding a child's hand each (Me holding DS 3s hand).
We come to cross a little side road and somehow I miss the kerb and half step off and half hit the kerb, my ankle twisted and I completely smacked into the floor. Thankfully, I didn't drag DS with me but we're in the middle of the road and I frantically start shouting to DH "GET THE BABY, GET THE BABY!!" while I'm still lying in the middle of the road.
I was so embarrassed, we were about 50 foot from the school gates and it was drop off time so there were so many witnesses.
I'm still mortified when I think about it.
I half hobbled, half limped my way home. And I've never felt the same about the jacket since.

It happen to all of us, at least there weren't 62 witnesses and I hope you feel better soon.

I tripped over a raised paving stone and went DOWN! Bumped my glasses, skinned my hands and fell really heavily on my knee.

It was getting better for a while and now it’s sore again - time for a GP visit I think.

I fell recently while out running. I was coming down a slight downhill and tried to stop at a junction but tripped over my feet and went rolling into the road. Fortunately there were no cars coming, but a driver had seen it happen through his rear view mirror and stopped. His wife came rushing up with a bottle of water and they very kindly drove me home (less than a mile but I was not in any state to walk home). I was quite badly shaken, especially at the thought of how much worse it could have been.

This is my fourth bad fall in the last 5 years. Two of the others involved slipping in mud/tripping over a tree root while trail running, and the other was a slip on a wet pavement. I broke my tailbone that time and was very careful for ages afterwards.

i fall all the time... skater, off-road cycling, stairs, life, jogs, garden ...
In fact, I think it's a point of honour that I didn't fall over on the skate rink either of the last 2 times I went.

Nearly face planted a couple weeks ago running up some steps indoors when I caught my sandal. I still have scabby knees from that one. The carpet was minging disgusting I think I got a mild infection from that scrape. It was a busy public place & no one paid me a blind bit of notice.

Slips trips & falls are fine - it's the long lies overnight when you can't get up, that tells you you're old, hospitals are full of them, practice getting off the floor unaided regularly, it may come in handy in a few years time

I too Had A Fall recently. I was walking DC over the road to swimming lessons which is less than 250m from our gate to the swim school door.
I stepped off the curb and just somehow it all went wrong. Foot buckled in and under and I collapsed to ground. Hauled myself up to sit on the curb and collect myself but the pain was blinding. I didn't want to worry DC though so got up and hobbled on thinking it would come right if I say during the swim lesson.
Instead it ballooned to twice normal size and blue bruising started to come through. Turns out I had two fractures and ended up in a moon boot for 6 weeks.

I fell out of bed while asleep last night for no apparent reason. I crashed to the floor taking with me all the stuff from the bedside table including a half empty cup of coffee, bashed my lip, which bled all over the carpet and got a bad black eye. Poor DH heard the racket asked if I was ok, I was too stunned to answer, he thought I was dead.
Today I look like a bad case of domestic violence. Looking on the bright side DH is delighted that I am alive and has been very solicitous, bringing painkillers drinks and food while I lay comfortably on the sofa and DS and his partner called in to make sure I was OK.
My new trout pout does not suit me.

I think you get used to falling, I’ve fallen downstairs, fallen out of the car, fallen in the street breaking my arm, fell in the house and cracked my head on the wall, fallen in the shower. All of them I think was just a moments lack of concentration or rushing about. I’m still now quite careful when walking about but I’m sure I’ll fall again. Looking back on my childhood I remember my knees always being bandaged up. I’ve been checked over and there’s no clinical reason for it. I think I just need to slow down a bit.

I've fallen twice in the last year, first time taking my plate back in the kitchen & tripped over ds boots, plate went up in the air & scrapings landed up in my hair, ended up with torn ankle ligaments. Then a couple of weeks ago, bending over to pick up veg peelings & went backwards landing on my bum. It's embarrassing as I'm disabled & my mum had to call my brother to get me back up both times.

I too have had some falls over the last few years but also have just a general feeling of being off-balance. Was there not a thread on here recently about the fact that menopause can affect our balance?

OP get thee to Pilates… there is nothing better building strength and muscle. My balance is heaps better.
Last time I fell was in an extremely posh shop with slippery tiles and I had some boots with smooth leather sole… have been wary of such soles since!

Yikes! I hope you heal quickly and glad you are being well looked after tonight.

I fell out of bed 3 weeks ago and knocked my walker over it hit the drapes and pulled the curtain rod down. Luckily I wanted to change the curtain rod to a black out version rod anyways.

Remembered another one. I was ill in bed with a temperature and I had been hallucinating. I thought I had fallen into a swimming pool but realized I had fallen out of bed. DH told me to put my arms round his neck and he would lift me that way but bearing in mind I weigh about 7 stone more than him I refused his offer so he just turned over and went back to sleep.
Meanwhile I'm laid on the floor with osteoarthritis in both knees wondering how the hell to get up. I managed eventually but I no longer sleep near the edge of f the bed.

I fell over on rough ground a couple of times while doing C25k following an injury last year. Normally when I snag my foot on a lump, I can correct myself, but after 4 months of rest/ lighter exercise, I went flying and was wondering what the sky was doing in front of me before working out that the most bruised bit of me was my pride.

Fortunately, I do still throw myself around things like trampoline parks and waterslides, and it's good to keep that kind of vestibular input into adulthood if you can; it does help reduce the shock and confidence dent of finding yourself gazing at the sky!

DM first broke a bone during a fall on ice in her 50s. As a result, I try to keep my bone and muscle density up with high impact and weights based exercise to improve my odds.

A little can go a long way with light balance work or more formal exercise like pilates/ yoga. Swimming is good for core strength too. There's a good youtube channel called Upright Health that covers basic functional movements like balance and getting up off the floor.

By the time I got back to running 5k, my balance and ankle strength seemed to have returned to normal function. I hope I have many more years of falling over and bruising nothing but pride!

I feel you op! Last year I fell down my front step and manage to break both feet! Felt very vulnerable - hope your are feeling better soon