"I've fallen, and I can't get up!" says senior actress Dorothy McHugh in the famous television commercial for medical alarm company LifeLine that played often in the 1980s and 1990s.
That line became a catchphrase in popular culture at the time, likely because many of us make fun of falling and relegate it to an issue of seniors.
But truth be told, we all fall, will, or could.
According to Statistics Canada, falls were the leading cause of injury hospitalization among all age groups in Canada, in the years 2018 and 2019.
And we fall on the job, too.
Each year, 11,000 British Columbians are injured by slips, trips and falls in their workplaces, according to WorkSafeBC. Injuries from falls can include sprains, bruises, concussions, fractures, burns and cuts.
On average, these injuries cost B.C. businesses more than 260,000 lost workdays and more than $206 million in workers’ compensation payments.
Falls account for 20% of all worker claims.
The problem is, we aren't taught how to fall, says Jarlo Ilano, a physical therapist and one of the founders of GMB Fitness, an online training platform.
Ilano says that's one of the first things kids who take martial arts are taught, but that isn't the case for the general population.
"It seems simple, but even simple things can help," he said.
His company made the video, featuring co-founder Ryan Hurst, to spread the basic, but essential information about how to land if you find yourself falling.
"The premise of our company is education. People will say they are clumsy, or another fancier term is ‘motor morons.’ Even teachers have told me that and that always struck me the wrong way because I fully believe it's just training and practice and education."
He noted folks should practise the techniques in the video as often as possible.
Don't do this
The biggest mistake people make when they feel themselves starting to fall is trying to catch themselves with their hands, according to Ilano.
"I am a physical therapist. I have been since 1998, and one of the funny medical terms is called FOOSH — it means ‘fall on outstretched hand,’" he said. "Everyone puts their hand down when they're falling and they break their wrist; they break some of the small bones in their hand and that could travel up into their elbow."
FOOSH is the most common injury from falling Ilano sees. The next most common is broken shoulders, followed by hips, particularly for older folks.
"I mean, the statistics are... crazy. Not even in just, as you would think, older people, seniors, and such — and it is — but even in [younger people]," he said.
Clear the clutter
Barry Nakahara, a senior manager of prevention field services with WorkSafeBC, notes that clutter at workplaces is a common reason for falls.
"Automotive, or other types of shops that make or fix things, the clutter of parts and parts that you're either assembling or taking apart, and the equipment and the hoses that you might be using for say, cutting torches and electrical cords. It's that kind of clutter that can be problematic," he said.
"And if you are having to step through that area, like say a shipment of stock comes in, you want to clear the clutter first, rather than trying to step over it. That might be one — from my personal experience in workplaces — that's something to look out for."
An ounce of prevention
Ilano said balance and strength training can go a long way in preventing injury from falls.
There's a correlation between falls that can be life-changing and decreased balance and hip strength, he said.
"Balance, and a lot of hip strengthening, and a lot of ankle strengthening — those, if you were going to do the best bang for your buck stuff, those would be it."
Find more tips on staying safe from injury on the GMB Fitness YouTube page.
