Hello my old friends -
Today I did some work in my garden. I forgot to take my garden-shoes on,
wearing toe-sandals is stupid !
Suddenly I could feel my balance is gone, I am falling . I cud see the big stones passing , the edge of the flower-stone , then my face bumped in the grass.
My nose hurt ,some crushing noise, grass in my mouth.
I thought, my noes is broken , my neck is broken. Lucky me ,- after a while I crawled up, walked to the bathroom, - my nose had some wound , looking a bit blue. That was all , but if I had been falling a little bit more foreward , the stones had crashed my face .

I managed to twist the body .
Is there nothing we can do , do we have to fall like a tree ?
The arms just hangs down and the head hangs down.

Do you have any technique witch works , any advice ?

Very good question and i do not have the answer. I know that parachutists are still traveling pretty fast when they hit the ground, and they are trained to do that. They practice it. Is there any similar training going on for PWP: and more than just written advice: is there any actual physical training going on to teach us to react quickly and instinctively to protect ourselves when we go down, either from loss of balance or from stumbling? The statistics on the number of PWP hospitalized with bone fractures are quite horrendous; I don't remember the stats off-hand; but a lot of money could be saved and misery avoided if there is any practical way of teaching us how to hit the deck without getting hit by the deck.

I'm in my 9th year of living with PD. I used to freeze and fall a couple times a week, but reprogramming my brain has pretty much stopped that from happening any more. Not sure what caused the freezing in the first place (meds, pd, etc.), but panic always preceded a fall. As soon as my leg muscles froze, I would panic and not knowing what to do next, I usually fell. Fighting or resisting the fall only made it worse.
Once I realized what was happening, every time (well most of time time) I felt like I was going to freeze and loose control and fall, I would stop the fighting, stay calm and would carefully drop down to my knees in a controlled fashion. Better a controlled fall than an uncontrolled one.
Not to panic was the key. I next started to teach myself how to get that first step started again. I was becoming fully aware of what's involved in walking again. At first I would just focus on moving one foot at a time and slowly count out my steps. I would look at where I wanted to go (across the room for example: 5 steps) and count out the 5 steps. It's weird how this works, but once I told my brain it has a function to perform, it would automatically go through the motions. Becoming aware of my centre of balance helped me a lot too. I would consciously shift my weight to the stationary foot before I moved the other one. Concentrating on swinging my arms also helped in shifting my weight. I even started to swing my arms before my first step.
Look at where you want to go, eliminate any other toughs in your mind, don't try to have a conversation with anyone and become fully aware of your movements. It's not as easy as it sounds, walking involves dozens of muscles. Focus on one muscle group at a time helps. Walking again was the most difficult for me to do, I'm still reprogramming my brain, but I haven't had an uncontrolled fall for months now and only rarely do I have a controlled fall. The key is not to panic, stay calm and become fully aware of your movements.
Reprogramming the brain: Become consciously aware of your movements and don't take any movement for granted. I believe we need to relearn how to move again. This involves all muscles. Our bodies are constantly replacing old damaged cell with new ones. So lets program them. We can make new connections between the brain and the muscles. Reprogramming works best for me when I'm unmedicated and having difficulty moving around. I even had to reprogram my breathing. I would often find myself barely breathing, so I would consciously take deeper breaths. Becoming aware of my chest muscles going in and out. After awhile my breathing greatly improved.
Reprogramming the brain can start with just one finger. Focus on opening and closing that finger, then alternate with a finger from the other hand. As one finger close the other finger will open. This comes natural and without any effort when my meds are on, but requires mental effort when I'm unmedicated. The more I do it the easier it gets, try it. I believe I'm creating new neurological connections. Next try alternating one arm up and one arm down at the same time. By doing both sides at the same time, I believe it helps restore coordination.

It couldn't hurt...
Works for me.

Max

Anne;

what i try to do is to bend my knees to get my upper torso closer to the ground. that way i have a shorter distance to fall. I try to put my arm around my head so it doesn't "bounce" when i hit the ground.
The best thing to do is prevention! wear suitable shoes and try to utilize your "on" times.

Charlie

I believe that the John Argue book, PD and the art of Moving, I think it is called, has a section on 'how' to fall. I no longer have a copy, so can't give a definitive quote, but I am sure it is there. Not fearing the fall is important to not hurting yourself.

I rarely fall now, but do not do the things I used to. In hindsight I had two major falls well before dx, both out of doors in exactly the way you describe, was bruised in quite spectacular fashion both times. After those I tried to get my head round what to do, and the Tai Chi classes I was doing at the time helped me immensely. There have been other times over the years, the most recent a year ago - out shopping I managed to 'trip' over the dimpled paving they use at pedestrian crossings here in the UK for aiding blind people.

However the sudden effect of being mid fall without apparently having done anything to be in that position is one I recognise, the art is in landing so you don't damage anything.

A good physical therapist should be able to help you with this. Falls prevention is a major part of their remit.

Lindy

Thank you for writing and for the good advices . I will print it out and show it to my helpers and my family , it will help them to understand my problem.
After my fall my body hurts , especially my head. I have to concentrate when I shall do simple things.
P.D. are teaching me everyday, news --, humility - -!

I believe it was advice to a young Victorian bride, but it could work here too (?)

"Close your eyes and think of England."

Oh, I know this feeling... I don't have PD but I am very unstable now while gardening.

I use a hiking pole now for any bending to balance me. These are light weight poles that will take some pressure, and they have a rubber tip (that is the only way I use them).

I originally got mine for winter, as we live on a steep hill and there are many stairs to get down to the cars.
This year I expanded my pole to yard work and walking long distances and it has been my savior. I have PN in my feet and sometimes have been known to fall too. The last one was devastating to the tendons in my hip and the PT said...another fall would tear the tendon OFF ...so I started with the pole.

There are many upscale poles out there, for upscale prices. I use a cheap one I found at Dunham's sporting goods, for $15 and have used it quite a bit over the last 3 or so years. When shopping with a push basket at stores I don't use it.

What is also nice is that unlike a cane, people don't stare as much at you. Hubby thinks this is because it is rather in vogue and European looking since they use them commonly over there. LOL I find the pole much easier on my hands, and very useful for bending over in the garden, and helpful for getting upright again. The pole is really wonderful for use on stairs. No more bending over with a cane. The pole is long and you can use it as a tripod going down much more easily.

Shalom from dvora -
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i have been reading about how many of you experience falling -
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i have more disability from falls than my illnesses --
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i am sorry for the awful experiences you have had -- but selfishly glad i am not alone in this -
be safe and well ..... Dvora

falls scare me a lot. i can't remember if i posted this already or not but I was pulling weeds with two friends who generously offered to come and help. i have a very weak right side now and at any time it can stay put as the rest of my body makes a right turn. i did one of those desperate careeening down the side walk heading straight for their car. my friend's husband stuck his arm out which i managed to grab and he broke my fall. he saved my life. my face would have been imprinted on his car.

anyway DVORA i live on the space coast - in rockledge . lived in this area since 1984 and used to work at Mila Elementary on Merritt Island. i was always proud of the school's name. It stood for merritt island launch area.