Took a nasty fall. Why?

[essdipity]

A while ago I was walking my dog on a paved nature path behind here, when suddenly, wham. Down I went. I know I  turned one ankle a bit, but it didn't seem enough to make me lose my balance like that. I hovered for a microsecond as the realization hit me that I was going down. Flailing wouldn't have done any good.

It was a shocking jolt, as falls usually are, but I'm not hurt. Just big bruises on one arm and leg, and I'll be fine.

The thing is, I was not feeling dizzy at all. My boat rocking vertigo (round 3) is pretty much gone, after a year. I had no expectation that I'd lose my balance like that, and I don't know why. I hope it isn't just old age. I'm not ready for that! As far as I know, my only real weakness is in my hip flexors, and that's not bad.

Well, that's my kvetch for the day. Thanks for listening.

ess

[tonyad]

   I do not know how on earth I missed this post..(Duh!)
Please know though that i hate that you fell but glad nothing got broke!
How are you this weekend? Still a bit sore?

    I toppled halway down my steps last week. Like you, was not dizzy (for once)
but down I went. It was quite loud. I sat there for a couple seconds wondering what the heck has just happened and why......I got up, faced the second level of steps (a bit nervous) then when I got to living room (hobbling) i asked my son if he knew I had fell or if he had heard anything and he said "Ya, I heard you but I was watching my show"  I could not help but to bust out laughing......

    The very worst kind of falling is the one done in public!
Be careful,
~Tonya

[Growing2Boys]

I feel at work the other day. It was a flat , wood floor. I wasn't dizzy. No weakness. I chucked it up as a fluke.
Today I almost fell at the exact same spot! I stood back & stared at the floor (people walking by looking at me as if I were a nutter) Then I approached the spot again slowly. My vision percieved the floor as going downhill. Obviously I am developing some perception issues. I actually had to run my foot across the floor to prove to myself the spot did not go downhill (once again getting nutter glances )
My plan is to avoid that spot in the floor :) & hit the optho-neuro guy again to check out what new eye afflictions I have.

Have you had a vision exam lately?

[shermay]

Hope your feeling better today.

Falling can give us a nasty shock!!  I hate it when I fall for no particular reason.

Maybe the pavement wasn't so even after all??

My Father always used to say to 'pick my feet up' :)))  That was even before I was in my 'teens :)))

Hugs,

Debs xxxxxxxxx

[shoshin]

I hope you are feeling better by now and am glad you weren't badly hurt. I think there are a lot of other reasons to fall other than vertigo.

Some people mentioned foot drop, which I get especially when I'm tired. I notice that this causes me to trip, mostly on things like uneven pavement or rug edges, but sometimes seemingly over my own two feet. However, I used to be able to recover from this and not actually fall until I started having additional balance problems.

My PT told me the balance system is made up of three elements, vision, the vestibular system in the brain, and somatosensory (body feeling), and any of these can get out of whack.

I had no idea I had vestibular problems until I went to PT. They gave me some exercises that helped some with that. The proprioception problem that Ren describes  is a part of the somatosensory system. Another somatosensory problem is not feeling what your body is touching. I don't have good feeling on the bottom of my feet and I think this causes my reaction times to be slow when I get caught off balance.

Maybe you should see someone to see if they can figure out what is causing this and if anything can be done. It is freaky and scary to fall out of the blue like that. In the meantime, be careful.

sho

[MsWobbles]

Dear Ess,

Sorry for your fall - glad you're okay.  Hope you're using a cane or will start using one.  May need a walker for long walks (like I use).  

I've had many such falls - totally unexpected and with no warning, no reason, no time even to get my arms out to brace me.  Sometimes my right leg just gives out.  Twice I've fallen directly on my back. Sometimes I even fall using my walker.  

My worst fall was when, out of the blue on a beautiful sunny day, my face hit the pavement - breaking my glasses and causing me an ER trip for stitches to my face.  After that I started using a cane for short walks and a walker for longer ones.

Like you, I have weakness in my hip flexors (actually admitted by a couple of MDs) and my legs just about always feel weak.  

Please start using a cane and/or a walker.  Remember that one bad fall can permanently end your mobility.  Use your current fall as a wake-up call!  Take the necessary precautions so you can keep walking!

Hugs!

WeakandFALLING

[lovemy6monkeys]

I hope you are feeling ok today! I know the second day sometimes is more sore and achey. ((hugs))

~Jess

[johnniebear]

If we could only bounce back up without a problem..

I fell  twice this past winter outside & think it was weather related-  we had snow on the ground,  looking back I'm sure  the little balance problem I have didn't help.

So in my book ,  Its says no more falls for the rest of year- I'll send everyone a copy :-D

John..

[supermum_ms]

I dont think you can blame it on age, lol i'm 45 and fall more than my mother who's almost 70, though she has done the spectacular face plant falling out of her car, due to her glasses chain getting caught on something inside the car and even she still wont blame her falls on age, its always the pavements falt lol

I have this thing that freezes my lower limbs, so my upper body is still in motion but the legs have lost brain signals and stuck firm, could that be what happened to you, quix explained it to me once but i cant remember the technical info, sorry! When it first started happening i use to do the flailing arms trick, like i was about to fall off an invicible cliff, now i dont bother and just focus on the landing. Most times i've managed to piroet and land on my butt if my brain has registered whats happening quickly enough, though mostly my knees seem to buckle at the same time and its anyones guess at how i'm going to land.

Hope you dont end up black and blue, i think i've been lucky, nothing broken yet and minimul bruses. I use to be a gymnast and was until 09, still able to be very agile on the balance beam, now i fall off the curb or the crack between the floorboards or nothing at all and thats when i'm not dealing with the vertigo lol!

I think it might be time to learn judo, or stunt lessons, what ever teaches you how to land safely!

Cheers.......JJ

[rendean]

Dear Ess,

I'm glad you were not seriously injured, other than your pride perhaps. Since you are not sure of the reason you fell, I thought I would share what my physical therapist deduced as one of the reasons I fall, even with no vertigo.

It seems there is a disconnect on the left side of my body.  If I turn my head to the left as I am shifting my weight to the left leg I fall. With practice at PT this dissipates until the next relapse. This is on solid ground. My therapist suggested that when I have to walk on anything slightly uneven, the grass on my lawn for instance, that I either use my cane or watch the ground as I walk since the proprioception is messed up on the left. My two cents worth.

I hope you aren't stiff as Shell suggested when you wake up tomorrow.

Take care,
Ren

[essdipity]

Thanks to all of you for your concern. I'm fine, really, just sort of disgruntled (when I'm usually pretty gruntled).

Shell, I darn near fell on the dog! Would have crushed her--she weighs only 15 lbs. One of my neighbors saw my 'graceful' collapse and called to me. She wanted to come help but I didn't need any, really.

Guess I'm becoming La Klutza Royale.

ess

[sllowe]

Oooh, you gonna be stiff tomorrow, Essy!!

I hope your ankle is ok. Must of felt like slow-mo to you.

Hope you are not all cricked up tomorrow, Ess :(
Shell
p.s. did anyone see? come to your rescue? The dog at least?
(((hugs)))  

[Sarahsmom46]

Those unpaved paths, although scenic and peaceful, are menaces in disguise.  Be extra careful on them because they may look innocent, but our balance not being what it should be, no matter your age, can bring you down for no apparrent reason.

I am so relieved that the outcome was only bruises and scrapes.  Last thing you need is a broken or even a sprained ankle.  

I can join you in the falling department, but I know exactly what caused my fall.  I was in the metro last week going home, actually being sent home from work because I was so sick, and had this guy on the metro knock me down while he was racing past to make the next train.  He said he didn't see my cane. Ha!  too big of a hurry. Anyway, like you I had only bruises on my elbows and knees, but if I could have caught up with him after he dashed off iwthout even helping me get up, I would have smacked him with my cane.  

So let's both be a little more careful because we don't need to be breaking anything especially our legs which we depend so much on.  

Take care.

Julie

[Sailorsong]

What you discribed sound like a lot of my falls. No vertigo, head spinning, or anything else. I think what is happening at least in my case is I'm shifting my weight to the other leg before it has even contacted the ground and down I go.  Hope your hurts heal quickly.

Dennis

[Valerie64]

poor you, it gives you a bit of a shock though even if you don't think it at the time

take care

Val x

[michelleric]

So sorry about your fall.  That is scary, and thank goodness you came out ok!

Thinking of you,

Michelle

[Lulu54]

Dear Grace,
Ouch!  So sorry this happened to you.  I know I have taken some interesting falls in the past - wish I could blame them all on MS!!

feel better, Lulu

[jensequitur]

I fell down while going up the steps this last weekend.  I guess my legs got confused or something - I was trying not to step on the dog, and wham! down I went.

I do have some drop foot, and that might have been a factor - I dunno.

[truelove47]

So sorry you took a fall

I guess it goes with the territory.

Feel better


Linda

[Guitar_grrrl]

Ooooh, so sorry!  I'd call your neuro on that one.

I did a rather spectacular faceplant while on vacation last month.  I was coming out of an old building onto the side walk.  The bottom stair wasn't the same height as the others, and I went down like a sack of potatoes!  I'm blaming the stairs, but I can't help but wonder why my usual compensation mechanism wasn't working.  My guess was it all happened so fast my brain couldn't catch up with any kind of demands for my muscles.

I'm seeing my neuro in a couple of weeks.

Speedy bruise recovery,
Guitar_grrrl

[HVAC]

Sorry about the fall.

Alex

[Mand125]

Hi Ess

I'm sorry about your fall, I fell a few times over the last couple of years and despite my balance problems I couldn't understand why either.

On my last neuro exam the neuro mentioned my drop foot. I said I didn't have that, just that sometimes my foot didn't lift off the ground properly, yes he said, drop foot, no I said. I have no idea why I was so insistant that I didn't have it.

I guess that explained my falling though. :)

Mand