What constitutes a "fall"?

Within industrial safety we always categories such incidents into separate slip, trips or falls categories.

A slip is where the surface people are standing or walking on allows their footing to slide out from under them causing them to stumble backwards or forward.

A trip is where an object on the surface people are walking on impedes their footing again allowing them to stumble forward or backwards.

A fall is where the pressures and hazards of a persons employment causes them to jump out of the fifth floor window of the building they are working in. ??

I heard the bone snap when I landed at the bottom.
paddyanne that is a sickening sound, isn't it!

I am trying to concentrate more, it can happen when your mind is ahead of what you're doing at that moment.

Don’t know the difference sorry except I associate “having a fall“ with the fragile very elderly. 62 doesn’t come anywhere near that category I am 67 and am only just in middle age!!

As my old mum used to say---" pick your feet up " if I ever tripped up as a kid, and " look where you're going " was another.
These two phrases have stayed with me over the years so that I've always been mindful of uneven surfaces/ obstacles.

I'm not a fan of " had a fall " and prefer to stick to the version of " fell over ", or just " fell / fallen". To be patronised isn't my thing just because the years dictate.

A couple of years ago I fell down the stairs and ended up sitting in the dogs water bowl. Not only 'a fall' but looked as if I was incontinent as well.

It’s only a problem if there’s a witness. Then there’s the embarrassment factor. I fell backwards yesterday up the kitchen step while painting. I forgot the step. Sadly I was holding the paint tin in my arms, so could watch in slow motion as it tipped over me. I haven’t told anyone. Sshhh!

I heard years ago, that how you describe the art of descending to the ground, defines whether you are old or not.

If you're young, you say "I fell over"
If you're old, you say "I've had a fall"

I ‘fall’ if I trip or an unexpected manoeuvre makes me fall over.

I ‘have a fall’ if I suddenly find myself on the floor, usually following a lurch due to ear problem.

MIL used to ‘have Falls’ when she found herself on the floor, usually resulting in a broken bone somewhere. But she also used to fall due to her tripping over things on her walks, or falling from a chair when she decided to clean the lampshades. As you do.

I had a spectacular move from one level to another (thanks *agnurse for the definition) on the beach during the ‘real’ lockdown I saw a piece of something sticking up and my inner self said ‘ make sure you miss that’ whereas my outer self said ‘ of course I will, I can see it, dah’ then my foot made contact I then went on a free fall Each step taking me further and further from the object, but getting lower and lower it was very slow motiony and must have looked very funny
I eventually hit the deck but because sand is soft I only hurt my dignity
As with all falls I jumped up with the ‘ I meant to do that’ look on my face I nearly took a bow but resisted

Monica. Should I ever damage myself tripping over God help the medic who talks of 'a fall' in that voice.“

I was startled by the idea of you stumbling on the almighty before I read the rest of the sentence.
I can’t bear “had a fall”.

paddyanne

I tried imagining being told "Tracy had a fall", where Tracy is a young person. What would I think?

I'd think Tracy must have been badly hurt and / or unable to get up from the fall and / or been caused to fall by some unknown ailment.

I had several "falls" in my early 50's.Too much on my mind to notice where I was going or what was in front of me.My spectacular fall was from the top of the stairs when I heard GD 2 scream ,I'd left her with GD 1 in the living room...just to take something upstairs.I heard the bone snap when I landed at the bottom.
Another good one was a TRIP ,over a foot (not mine) when I had my hands full with tray and glasses ..I didn't get a drink I spilled it all and broke my wrist in 3 places trying to save my face from hitting the floor My thumb hasn't worked right since it only moves when I move it with my other hand .I haven't had a fall for a few years so getting on seems to be the cure not the cause here

To me, a fall is what happened to me in April. I took the wheelie bin out, caught my foot in a small pothole, went over and landed flat on my back, fracturing 2 vertebrae. I`m still suffering for it, so that`s a fall to me, not a trip up.

Hope you're feeling better now, Squiffy

Squiffy I had a similar splat not long ago, involving wood, but it was shoulder, cracked ribs and bruised face.
A good splat requiring a visit to A&E.

Yes, Callistemon, a slip in the shower. Conditioner is very slippery (I use a leave-in one when I'm out and dried.

Squiffy, a 'splat' is a brilliant term, very fitting!

Callistemon I believe you are right. I must admit I was drawing on my own varied experience there, and my bones are not at all brittle it would appear, although I can admit to a sprain or two. I love the ‘double whammy’, hope it comes with a cherry and a firework.

Well, I recently trod on a piece of wood, my foot rolled over and I did a full-on splat on tarmac, resulting in sprained ankle, cracked ribs and bruised arm - and bruised pride!

So, is a splat a fall/tumble/stumble?

Either way, it hurt! ??‍♀️?

Lexisgranny
Could be a broken bone, a sprain or similar.

I would think slipped or skidded in the shower, unless you trip over the shampoo bottle which has just fallen down and hit your big toe, in which case that is called a double whammy.

I do think “a fall” should involve blood, whereas falling or tripping is more a question of embarrassment and bruises and probable swearing. Personally I prefer to make the decision as to which whilst still on the ground, before well meaning bystanders insist on hoisting me to my feet. Also no one has mentioned being “winded”, can’t quite decide which heading this should come under.

So, if you are reasonably young, and go base over apex in the shower, for example, you have either slipped, tripped, fallen over, but you haven't had "a fall"?

It seems to me that once you hit 60 you stop falling over and begin to have falls, 'falls' being uttered in that bated breath kept for use only with the elderly.

The fact that I fall over post 60 for the same reasons I fell over before 60 makes no difference at all. However it does mean that when I do go flat on my face, I did it twice last year, I get myself up and moving on as quickly as I can.

I am mildly dyspraxic, my balance is not perfect and I tend to do everything at a canter, so I go over on my ankle, misjudge cambers on road and trip over anything that can be tripped over, slip on grass slopes. I only wear straight leg trousers because floppy legged trousers have caused me to trip or nearly trip in the past.

Should I ever damage myself tripping over God help the medic who talks of 'a fall' in that voice.

Were you wearing socks tanith?

I'd say that was more of a tumble myself.

A fall is technically defined as an unplanned move from one level to another. So a person could fall to the floor, fall into a chair, etc.

What you always want to determine are the causes of the fall and the effects of the fall. If someone says they tripped over the cat, that's one thing. If they say they got very dizzy and woke up on the floor, that's a cause for concern. In terms of the effects, people over age 65 are at higher risk for problems such as fractures and brain bleeds.

In people over 65, falling is something their health care provider should be assessing regularly. The #1 risk factor for falling is having had a previous fall, and falls can be a major cause of health issues and even death. A number of different things can cause falls, including factors such as health status, vision issues, layout of the home (for example, throw rugs are very dangerous for causing falls), and even medications - the effects of medications are increased in people over 65 as the brain is more vulnerable and the liver and kidneys are less efficient at breaking down and getting rid of medications. Falls in people over 65 are considered a "geriatric syndrome", meaning they're a problem that's not uncommon in people in this age group. Of course, people can fall at any age, but as I've indicated, falls tend to cause more problems in people over 65.

lemongrove - I have also seen a fall referred to as an FDGB, namely "fall down go boom".