What constitutes a "fall"?

63 year old here and I have had falls which are associated with weakness and imbalance. In the Spring of 2019, age 62 I attended a falls class which lasted 12 weeks. The other attendees were 15 to 20 + years older than me. So it happens but in truth I think you had an accident which could have happened to anyone. My leg at times will give way. I am under medical observation following MRI. I may have MS and I hope I am not developing a form of dementia. I had 3 significant falls in one year. My head was cracked open by one and Inhad to have staples.

My son had a dissecting cerebral aneurysm aged 35 - it really isn't funny at all. Be more careful please. You seem to have upset a lot of people.

BlueBelle

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

Is that what’s called a ‘pratfall’ ? or merely a tumble?

Having a fall is definitely a phrase reserved for older people and isn’t fair! Anyone can fall trip stumble or whatever.
Phrases reserved for the elderly, old, past it, seniors, pensioners etc are annoying.
I have been blessed on the phone twice today, once by the GP
Reception staff ( I was booking a flu jab) and then by an Insurance firm when I was checking a household clause in the contract.
I wish all the gratuitous blessing would stop.

Meant to add ( knocking on wood) I can’t remember when I last tripped/fell so it must have been a long time ago.

Oh I so agreeLemongrove !
Time was I would be called “Madam” in John Lewis, now it’s “my dear” and invariably punctuated with a benediction!
I’m not exactly in my dotage yet ???

Ah, bless ?

Maw, Ut benedicat tibi. ??

Careful there marydoll using Latin, it’s elitist doncha know?
?

I know! I was trying to be clever, but obviously failed!!!

Health and safety at work insists the records document slips trips and falls easy enough to work out surely this is to prevent any serious injury my occupational therapist looked at my carpets and said I recommend you lift these they’ll cost you a slip a trip or a fall whatever, they stayed down as they had grippers underneath and no amount of tripping over them would have resulted in me slipping tripping or falling because like Lucca I’m only late middle aged.

I’m never going to have ‘a fall’. If my 70+ feet are ever disobliging enough to go from under me, let it be merely known that I went arse over breakfast time, as my quaintly-spoken DF used to put it.

Conversation with my DD, "where were you", and I say "I had to help this elderly woman", and my DD laughs, why, because I am 82.

Have you tried the weekly Times Latin crossword, Marydoll.

I only want to fall down if I’m drunk....at least it’s a valid reason.??

Thanks grumma, but my Latin is very poor nowadays. I decided to rekindle my interest on Duolingo. It wasn't the Latin I was taught!?

However, I can still recite all the proverbs I had to learn off by heart. Not much use in a Latin crossword, methinks.
I may have a look.

My spelling is also poor! Sorry grummpa. ☺️

So... just to be clear....if you can give a clear reason for falling then you fell...but...if you find yourself on the floor and can’t explain how it happened then you had a fall and need to be on the falls register because you are likely to have a fall again ???‍♀️

Apparently irrespective of how one falls there is a high chance of a repeat performance with a year.

Sometimes falls happen with alarming frequency alas - not always for the same apparent reason either.

Balance, low blood pressure, weakness or lack of flexibility in the legs and ankles, some at times of stress or poor concentration - all of these can play a part.

My most spectacular fall some years ago was a trip up the steps leading up to the recycling bins. My arms were full of newspapers so, I was not even attempting to use the railings, nor could I see the ground in front of me through the papers. I tripped up a step, and went down like a lump of lead, not even able to put my hands out (maybe not a bad thing as I would probably have broken at least one wrist). My forehead hit the edge of a higher step cutting right across. My DH was ill in bed, unable to help and neighbours’ phone was engaged so I wrapped a towel round my head and knocked on their door. The said they thought Pugsy had arrived!
A visit to A&E, several sutures (or facelift on the NHS, as it was described by my kind neighbour who had taken me to the hospital) and all was well, apart from a very, very bruised and black face for a couple of weeks.
It was decided I did not need the falls clinic as I knew exactly how it had happened and why.

My worst fall (and I often have those where my ankles give way after stepping, apparently, on nothing larger than a pebble, which shoots out of sight, meaning it looks as though I tripped over my own feet) happened well over 15 years ago so I was in my 40s.

I suddenly found myself lunging forwards, like that Keith Haring drawing in reverse, getting lower and lower with each desparate step. I landed with a crash, flat on my face.

My tongue immediately went to my teeth where I felt that one of the front ones had broken clean across and snapped in two. I had an awful overbite in those days and so I thought to myself "YESSS!"

It meant that I could get my teeth done on health insurance. The grazes on my face soon cleared up and I got a bridge for my front teeth which looked much better than before!

(This is near enough the picture I mean)

Whoops. "desperate" not "desparate". Sorry, pedants.

Medics say a fall "is an event that results in a person coming to rest inadvertently on the ground or floor or other lower level."

I looked it up today and it's a common definition medically all over the world.

Well I fall regularly, however careful I am.
Old age, balance problems, not lifting my feet, not watching the ground when out etc.
I'm 85, and think maybe I'm pushing myself beyond my capacities.
The worst part of falling in old age is you might break a bone.
Which can be a death sentence.