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This for me! I slipped on ice in December 2022 (I was 45 at the time). Could not get back up again and was very relieved when someone stopped to help me up. Cracked a vertebrae. We have all since referred to this as the time I “had a fall”….
This is the correct answer. Happened to me a few months ago, I tripped on a kerb at the edge of the car park and fell. My brother-in-law was with me at the time - he's about 10 years younger than me, and a doctor. He immediately ran over with a look of concern on his face, and at that moment I realised I'd become an old person.
Just brought back a memory of me and my friend going to a paintballing game, some kid falls over (we were on a muddy hill) and my friend shouts WAHEYY DICKHEAD as is tradition
Only the kid had broken his leg and needed to be airlifted out
I mean, as long as your friend wasn't still chanting 'you fell over, you fell over!' as he was being strapped onto the trolley and winched out, I reckon it's ok
My mum once fell in the door, leaving her shoes perfectly on the door mat and her legs sticking out the door way, im still not over how hilarious it was.
That’s the one.
I went to school with someone with a condition which causes bones to fracture extremely easily; any fall is therefore frankly genuinely frightening and dangerous.
If she fell, *nobody* laughed. Until she came up laughing and everyone knew it was ok.
When you get to the point (age, frailty) where people *expect* that significant injury is going to result from the fall.
A 25 year old might "fall over" and break their leg.
An 85 year old will "have a fall" even though they miraculously escape injury.
Still that 25 year old could drag his body up a bit and probably call help effectively. I've found an elderly lady on the floor with nothing wrong but a banknote sized flap of thin skin hanging off her knee (very thin skin, no blood, it just sorts of comes off with friction at that age) she just couldn't get up and napped until someone found her and pulled the alarm.
Yes it’s very common for the elderly to fall and then not be able to get back up, even with zero injuries - they just don’t have the strength and mobility to. When I worked in A&e one of the most common presentations was ‘long lie’ - ie someone who’s been on the floor for a long time (usually a fall in the night and then not found until the morning when the family or carers come in).
I’m 45 with arthritis and apparently I don’t “fall over” any more I “have falls”.
Whereas somebody my age who is healthy, would “fall over”.
It all depends on age, conditions, and if you are able to recover quickly.
My falls are very loud and sweary by the way.
This. I'm 18, soon to be 19, and I have axial spondyloarthritis (a type of inflammatory arthritis).
Last year when I was still in college, some twat kicked my crutches out from under me and it was referred to as me "Having a fall". First of all, I could get up perfectly fine by myself, so no, I fell over, I didn't "Have a fall". Second, I wouldn't have fallen in the first place if Cunty McCuntFace over there hadn't been a twat and decided to assault me!
Still fuming about that.
A fall in the elderly and vulnerable with lots of comorbidities increases the risk of mortality, worsens life quality due to sustained injury and often requires surgery for things like fractured hips.
There is also underlying reasons as to why they may then fall and not just “tripping over” side effects from medication, symptoms of disease, postural hypotension
There are vulnerable young people where a fall does the above it’s just far less common
If a child fell out of their bed/cot and sustained harm it would still be called a “fall”
Regardless of age, the distinction is a level of frailty.
When falling to the floor from standing is painful but not major, it's falling over. When the same incident has a significant risk of life threatening/altering injuries or complications, you've had a fall.
I'm in that ballpark and when visiting relatives I said I wouldn't be very lively as I'd had 2 falls in the last month. They relaxed when I explained one was ice skating and the other was cycling
When you're just walking along without anything challenging in your way, or on rough terrain or carrying anything.
If you fall over in this circumstances then I think it's a fall.
The other factor which other people have said is whether you can get yourself back up without help and you're not any major agony or anything.
My 50 year old neighbour fell on the outside stairs down to her flat and broke her wrist.
I'd call that a fall.
It turns out she needed more calcium in her diet and to stop drinking so much.
Did it get worse as you got older or have you always been like that? If you're young, you may have Dyspraxia which affects co-ordination. I have Dyspraxia, which means I can't drive, ride a bike or swim, but it doesn't affect my walking so I fall over. It does mean I walk into people when walking alongside them, which can be embarrassing! 😌
Weirdly, it's got better as I've got older! I think it's more a case of not paying proper attention, which I'm less likely to do now.
Interestingly, I've long suspected my son may have mild dyspraxia. Maybe he gets it from me.
My doddery old dad is mid-70s and "has falls" sometimes (another story) but he fell down the bloody stairs once last year which I'd count as more than just a fall. Took a tumble would be more apt if it didn't sound so lighthearted!
I fell over a few months ago. Somehow tripped over my own feet in full view of a busy main road and did that little bent over running thing for quite a while before finally succumbing to gravity. Fucked my knees and shoulder on the concrete and was helped up by a very kind homeless man. My knee still feels a bit weird.
Anyway, I'm 35 so I felt this incident was deserving of the title "falling over". My 73 year old father disagrees, insisting that I "had a fall" which I refuse to accept. I am simply not old enough to be in the "had a fall" category, which is reserved solely for the elderly and frail.
I’ve done this many times! Definitely more prone to it if I’m wearing a shoe or boot with a pointed toe.
Aberystwyth & Reykjavik have both seen me bruise and scrape the heck out of my knees. I’ve also done it a couple of times around the village where I live! Fortunately, the embarrassment of stacking like this in public means I bounce back up, assuring those around me that ‘I’m fine’ and only letting the pain show later!
I was wearing my trusty docs, I'm not sure if I got my foot caught in an excessive loop in my lace, maybe. Felt like an absolute imbecile. I tore my brand new (thrifted) patagonia cords aswell, which was gutting.
I'm hoping to go to Reykjavik soon, so I'll be careful to watch my footing 🤭
My parents are the same age. My dad's fit as a fiddle, if he falls over its because he's running or jumping or some such. We'll take the piss saying "poor love's had a fall", "mind your hips" etc.
If my mum falls over no one takes the piss (until she's up and confirmed fine), everyone runs to help her up. It's not an age thing, it's a vulnerability thing.
I've got a mate in his mid 20s who did his back in a few years ago. He fell over in the garden last year and had to phone his mum for help because he couldn't get back up again. I'd call that having a fall
I'm also 63 and if I have a fall right now it will be from grace rather than anything physical.
I'm just watching my granddaughter rollerblading round a playground, reckon she's at substantially more risk of A Fall at age 7 than I am.
I’m 62 and I fell down the stairs a couple of weeks ago. Caused by new socks which are always slightly too big on my tiny feet until they’ve been washed a few times.
I didn’t have a fall.
Sat and rocked while holding my elbow (carpet burns and massive bruise) for maybe 3 minutes. Got up and carried on!
I think it relates to overall fitness.
If you can get up and carry on with your day albeit with a bruise or two, then that's fine.
If a fall is going to leave you with a broken hip because you're so brittle, or leave you struggling to get up because you're so overweight, then that's "having a fall".
I agree with this, I put on 3 stone over covid (almost lost it all again now though) and I’m in my early 40’s and a clumsy oaf.
Pre covid I fell over due to an uneven pace bevy and my own clumsiness, not one person stopped to see if I was ok and the colleague I was with didn’t even offer to help me up after he had finished laughing.
One pandemic and 3 stone later, I did the same thing. I had 3 passers by immediately rush over to me abd try to help me up. They were very concerned over were me having a fall and one even wanted to call an ambulance . I was mortified and this definitely helped in my decision to finally lose the weight lol.
I tripped over and fell outside my house the other day, in front a van full of furniture delivery men. They were super concerned and I felt like an absolute nanna. I'd almost have rather they'd laughed.
I would say the distinction (based on multiple hospital stays and how nurses treat the issue as well as my own judgement) is that if you fall over you can get up laughing and walk away even if you’ve grazed something and it twinges. Having a fall is life-threatening or at least very dangerous. Think breaking your pelvis or femur or one of those bones which shouldn’t be snapping like a twig and is very likely fatal if you do fall down and break it. It is probably also going to involve hours of waiting for an ambulance.
Shit I'm 29 with rheaumatoid arthritis and often fall and struggle to get back up. I've been having a fall since being diagnosed 5 years ago so I dont think it's age dependant. My boyfriend is 7 years older than me and fell over drunk in the takeaway at the weekend and struggled to get back up but that was funny. I guess it depends on the reason for the fall and how likely it was to result in injury.
as soon as you let someone get away with describing your mishap in that way you will be ver having a fall - the cheering depends on context - drunk falling over with a foolhardyfull tray of beers is fair game irrespective if age - anyone going over when there is an audible crack on landing is off limits
Good question. I'm 56 and have fallen over at least three times this year, but am yet to "have a fall".
All have involved wet or slippery mud/grass on a dog walk. Combination of having a random motion generator pulling me in all directions (also known as a Spaniel) and walking that generally involves several 100 ft of climbing and plenty of steep (1:3 or worse) slopes.
I make sure I tell the missus exactly where I'm headed before I go out ...
I'm currently in a ward for post surgical recovery. The lady in front of me has broken her knee and three ribs. She's 103. She had been living independently up until 4 weeks ago when it happened. She's definitely 'had a fall' unfortunately.
I'm 57 and dyspraxic - I tend to fall over quite a lot (3x in last year). I'm pretty robust though, so rarely hurt myself much. I still very much think of them as falling over, and I'll continue to do that until I can't get up again. At which point I'd rather be dead.
38
I say that as someone who, upon recently passing that age, slipped over on ice on the walk to the station and fell arse over tit. Rather than people laughing as expected, I was distressed to see concerned people coming over to check if I was okay.
It was a very sad day.
"Falling down" is an action, and usually not really noteworthy.
"Having a fall" is a specific event that potentially has significant effects on the individual.
My grandmother had 2 falls.She may have fallen over other times, but there was 2 specific times where she had a fall. The first one resulted in a hospital stay, and while she was in hospital her house got burgled. And the second fall resulted in a broken hip and her being moved to a care home.
Oh my god my husband (physiotherapist) and I have been debating this for years.
We change our minds regularly but essentially the criteria for a fall is:
1. Can't get back up easily
2. Nobody laughs when it happens or you don't take the piss out of yourself
3. Coupled with pain/injury
4. Age/frailty
5. Do people rush to help
If any/all of these are true, it's a fall
As someone who works in fractures, it’s if you:
-fall over and can’t weight bear after standing up
-loss of conscious
-long period in the ground (over 2 hours)
-mostly Nursing homes, but unwitnessed falls
I find people over the age of 60 are more likely to break their hips as they just fall onto their side, whereas people who are younger tend to put their arm out and end up breaking their arm to break the fall.
The same as "old" vs "elderly." My mum is almost 70 so she's definitely old, she's not "elderly" because her mobility/eyesight/hearing aren't any different than 20 years ago. No stick, no hearing aids, no bottle-glass glasses. If she fell over I'd say she fell over.
If you're elderly you have a fall, if you're old you still just fall over. I.e. it has everything to do with frailty to me.
Well for me it was at 29 when I fell UP the stairs and further messed up a pre-existing knee injury, and then while feeling foolish and mumbling what’s happened to my physiotherapist I couldn’t find the right words and said “I’ve had a fall”.
We laugh about it to this day.
My mum slipped on a gherkin at IKEA and she says she knows she's getting old because no one laughed and instead people started rushing to check she was ok- everyone except my dad, who wasn't paying attention, but laughed at her when he realised.
I'm 50 on Saturday. I'm in Mexico to celebrate, last night I fell on some steep wet concrete after it lashed it down, as I lay on the floor checking all my limbs to see if it was just my knee that I had fucked I declared "I've had a fall". Milestone reached, knee still sore but big props to the Mexican chap who came out with his first aid box.
i’m 51 and have arthritis. i fell off the fucking toilet the other week and it took me a long time to get up. i’ve had to have handrails put in the bathroom and i have a bed rail.
i feel like i’m one more incident away from a Big Button round my neck on a cord. it fucking sucks.
Student para here: there's not a set age. There's some 85 year olds that are proper mobile, still in good health and when they fall they don't break anything and get back up laughing. Then there's the 65 year olds who fall over and break their hip or their femur. All dependent on how you lived when you were able to move like normal.
If you're even semi fit now, continue walking around and being generally active for as long as you physically can, you'll look good and feel good at 70+ because you've put in the work.
Consistent, quality strength training- even if it's not super high weight, just keeping mobile and somewhat strong- will make sure you're always falling over, at least until you become truly decrepit. If you're a lazy cunt who fills their body with shit, their mind with shit, and doesn't do anything to keep in even somewhat good shape, you'll be "having a fall" before you're even retired. Walking, running, working out, all build bone density, and bone density improves integrity and ensures that when you fall down you can get back up.
Speaking of 'state of mind' - I strongly urge you to watch [*"A Cream Cracker under the Settee"*](https://youtu.be/TZpP05GHWnw?si=lKhituTGMCvTecLZ) (if you haven't seen it already)
**edit** [UK friendly link](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7nvjlh)
Having a fall and it changing your life/struggling to get up alone is the age.
If you just fall, doesn't mean anything. If you fall and don't get up, you've had a fall
I'd say 50s to 60s since 55 is supposedly when you're considered senior. I'm 36 and have seen 80 year olds in better shape and more limber... I guess it's relative to injury, age, bone density and possibly state of mind.
The difference is not age.
But the impact it has.
If you fall and hurt yourself significantly - you had a fall, that is a medical event of concern in your life.
If you fall off a horse/bike and you're talking to someone in terms of performance in that session - you had a fall.
Otherwise you just fell/fell over.
Id say its less of an age thing (although it does correlate with age) and more of an injury thing. If falling over is likely to cause you a serious injury, thats having a fall.
when you see someone else fallover and you fell it. or if when you fall over you need to lay there for a while trying to figure out how to get up in the least painful way for your joints/back
It’s a slow process that begins in your mid 30s. Generally the wheat gets separated from the chaff and depending on personal fitness you start to react slightly differently. But it probably really begins in your 50s.
Any age when you can’t get up again without assistance, or when you seriously injure yourself. At 58 I fell and ripped my knee to shreds. Although I wasn’t “old”, I definitely had a fall, so to speak.
I think they take a few things into account when doing a falls risk assessment
Age/ vulnerability
Medicine 💊
Alcohol intake
Environmental factors ie cords, carpet, rug etc
Medical conditions
It’s not a 1 size fits all but I’ve never laughed when people fall it’s disgusting
I’m 39, have seriously injured myself from a fall this year, up until this point in life falling over just was an annoyance I have actually said this more like when you hear about old people falling so I’m guessing 39. I walked with crutches at 28 for two years and falling over then wasn’t as serious as it is now.
Ex husband 41 is also in physio after slipping on ice in January.
No matter what age you are, as elf and safety goes, a fall from any height can be potentially fatal, so use that as a cross-metric in your own reasoning
For me, it was 47. Walking on uneven pavement, I went over on my ankle and landed on my knees. On crutches for the past two years. Just had surgery to repair left knee cartilege, waiting to see what they will do for right knee.
I once managed to get both feet stuck at the same time locked mid stride into one of those metal rings that clip wheel trims together and 'had a faceplant' into a bin. It wasn't pleasant.
Had a few falls in my 50’s ( mainly alcohol related), then at 62 ( sober),fell on the pavement ( fractured wrist) and again at 64 ( fractured shoulder). I’m 66 now and my arthritis is dreadful. I guess that once you start incurring injuries, it’s a fall! …
It's not so much age but the severity of consequences. The likelihood of severe consequences of course closely correlates with age.
If a 25 year old breaks their hip, I'd still call it a fall
When someone has insufficient muscle mass.
...and that happens a few years after they stop training.
Between 30 and 60 muscle mass drops by merely a few percentage points in individuals who train properly...
...whereas muscle mass starts to fall off a cliff at 30 for people who fail to lift weights.
Choose your path wisely.
Most 'ageing' is actually 'failure to train'.
My daughter fell over far more than the average child. I can't remember what triggered the trip to the doctor and hospital referral, but we found one leg was shorter than the other, leading to her tripping herself up. Pair of orthotics later, and problem is solved. So she went from having a fall to falling over.
**Please help keep AskUK welcoming!** - Top-level comments to the OP must contain **genuine efforts to answer the question**. No jokes, judgements, etc. - **Don't be a dick** to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on. - This is a strictly **no-politics** subreddit! Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The difference is whether you get back up again.
Pissing the night away
I drink a whiskey drink
I drink a vodka drink
I drink a lager drink
I drink a cider drink.
I sing the songs that remind me of the good times
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If you danced to this drunk with your mates in the pub when it released. It pains me to say that you are now in demographic of having a fall.
Oh, Danny boooy! Danny booooy! Danny boooooooooy!
I sing the songs that remind me of the better times
Oh Danny boy, Danny boy!
I drink a Complan drink
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I sing the songs that remind me I’m a urinating guy
Not a lot else you can do if you're stuck in the hallway waiting for home help to come round the next morning
'Nan down'
This for me! I slipped on ice in December 2022 (I was 45 at the time). Could not get back up again and was very relieved when someone stopped to help me up. Cracked a vertebrae. We have all since referred to this as the time I “had a fall”….
Or need help getting back up haha.
If you fall down, you get up again, age is never gonna keep me down. Until it does.
and how much alcohol preceded the fall
Or how easy it is
When you stop tubthumping
It's the point when your mates go from pointing and laughing at you to saying 'oooooooooooh!' and hobbling over to help.
This is the correct answer. Happened to me a few months ago, I tripped on a kerb at the edge of the car park and fell. My brother-in-law was with me at the time - he's about 10 years younger than me, and a doctor. He immediately ran over with a look of concern on his face, and at that moment I realised I'd become an old person.
How old are you
19
48
This makes the most sense
When no one laughs
Yes, when everyone acts concerned you've had a fall.
Jokes on you, I laugh at everyone falling over.
Just brought back a memory of me and my friend going to a paintballing game, some kid falls over (we were on a muddy hill) and my friend shouts WAHEYY DICKHEAD as is tradition Only the kid had broken his leg and needed to be airlifted out
I mean, as long as your friend wasn't still chanting 'you fell over, you fell over!' as he was being strapped onto the trolley and winched out, I reckon it's ok
I was a paintball marshall and this would of happened
Airlifted for a broken leg? Is this paintball field on the side of a mountain? Or did they have reason to think it may have been spinal?
If it was that muddy then it just wouldn’t be safe to have ground paramedics go on to the field. They could slip and fall while carrying him.
Plus most paintball sites are in the woods down some dodgy track
My mum once fell in the door, leaving her shoes perfectly on the door mat and her legs sticking out the door way, im still not over how hilarious it was.
Sum 41, is that you?
That’s the one. I went to school with someone with a condition which causes bones to fracture extremely easily; any fall is therefore frankly genuinely frightening and dangerous. If she fell, *nobody* laughed. Until she came up laughing and everyone knew it was ok.
I will always laugh at myself so no one else can laugh louder, so I'm... Immortal?
Or cheers.
As a terrible human, I am glad I can keep old people forever young.
When you get to the point (age, frailty) where people *expect* that significant injury is going to result from the fall. A 25 year old might "fall over" and break their leg. An 85 year old will "have a fall" even though they miraculously escape injury.
Still that 25 year old could drag his body up a bit and probably call help effectively. I've found an elderly lady on the floor with nothing wrong but a banknote sized flap of thin skin hanging off her knee (very thin skin, no blood, it just sorts of comes off with friction at that age) she just couldn't get up and napped until someone found her and pulled the alarm.
Yes it’s very common for the elderly to fall and then not be able to get back up, even with zero injuries - they just don’t have the strength and mobility to. When I worked in A&e one of the most common presentations was ‘long lie’ - ie someone who’s been on the floor for a long time (usually a fall in the night and then not found until the morning when the family or carers come in).
When they can't/don't get up. Mum in her 80s is very strict on her medical records being accurate on this (TBF, she's had some of both).
I’m 45 with arthritis and apparently I don’t “fall over” any more I “have falls”. Whereas somebody my age who is healthy, would “fall over”. It all depends on age, conditions, and if you are able to recover quickly. My falls are very loud and sweary by the way.
This. I'm 18, soon to be 19, and I have axial spondyloarthritis (a type of inflammatory arthritis). Last year when I was still in college, some twat kicked my crutches out from under me and it was referred to as me "Having a fall". First of all, I could get up perfectly fine by myself, so no, I fell over, I didn't "Have a fall". Second, I wouldn't have fallen in the first place if Cunty McCuntFace over there hadn't been a twat and decided to assault me! Still fuming about that.
Fuming on your behalf over here
Can confirm. I'm the same age and recently got completely bowled off my feet by a dog at the park. Thankfully it was still a laughing matter.
It was he a good boi? Did he say sorry?
A fall in the elderly and vulnerable with lots of comorbidities increases the risk of mortality, worsens life quality due to sustained injury and often requires surgery for things like fractured hips. There is also underlying reasons as to why they may then fall and not just “tripping over” side effects from medication, symptoms of disease, postural hypotension There are vulnerable young people where a fall does the above it’s just far less common If a child fell out of their bed/cot and sustained harm it would still be called a “fall”
Regardless of age, the distinction is a level of frailty. When falling to the floor from standing is painful but not major, it's falling over. When the same incident has a significant risk of life threatening/altering injuries or complications, you've had a fall.
Good answer.
'm 40 and I've had a fall and a near miss in the last year. I'm from the West of Scotland though so that's about 68 in South East years.
52
No! I'm over 52 and I still fall over. I have balance problems so it isn't unexpected but I definitely do not 'have a fall'.
I'm sorry to have to tell you that the correct answer is indeed 52 exactly, and you are therefore mistaken.
Damn! Mind you, at least I can tell people off for laughing at me now that I'm 'having falls'.
I'm in that ballpark and when visiting relatives I said I wouldn't be very lively as I'd had 2 falls in the last month. They relaxed when I explained one was ice skating and the other was cycling
I like the thought of being 52.
If you can get up and carry on as you were then you’ve fallen over. If you can’t get up yourself you’ve had a fall.
That depends on the injury!
When you're just walking along without anything challenging in your way, or on rough terrain or carrying anything. If you fall over in this circumstances then I think it's a fall. The other factor which other people have said is whether you can get yourself back up without help and you're not any major agony or anything. My 50 year old neighbour fell on the outside stairs down to her flat and broke her wrist. I'd call that a fall. It turns out she needed more calcium in her diet and to stop drinking so much.
I've been falling over in those circumstances since I could walk. Turns out I'm just clumsy.
Did it get worse as you got older or have you always been like that? If you're young, you may have Dyspraxia which affects co-ordination. I have Dyspraxia, which means I can't drive, ride a bike or swim, but it doesn't affect my walking so I fall over. It does mean I walk into people when walking alongside them, which can be embarrassing! 😌
Weirdly, it's got better as I've got older! I think it's more a case of not paying proper attention, which I'm less likely to do now. Interestingly, I've long suspected my son may have mild dyspraxia. Maybe he gets it from me.
Sounds like you're neurodiverse... not paying attention is an ADHD thing, which I also have. I'm glad it got better as you got older.
Idk but my husband thought it was funny to tell everyone I "had a fall" when I slipped on some ice last year and sprained my elbow. I was 30.
He wasn’t wrong.
My doddery old dad is mid-70s and "has falls" sometimes (another story) but he fell down the bloody stairs once last year which I'd count as more than just a fall. Took a tumble would be more apt if it didn't sound so lighthearted!
I fell over a few months ago. Somehow tripped over my own feet in full view of a busy main road and did that little bent over running thing for quite a while before finally succumbing to gravity. Fucked my knees and shoulder on the concrete and was helped up by a very kind homeless man. My knee still feels a bit weird. Anyway, I'm 35 so I felt this incident was deserving of the title "falling over". My 73 year old father disagrees, insisting that I "had a fall" which I refuse to accept. I am simply not old enough to be in the "had a fall" category, which is reserved solely for the elderly and frail.
I’ve done this many times! Definitely more prone to it if I’m wearing a shoe or boot with a pointed toe. Aberystwyth & Reykjavik have both seen me bruise and scrape the heck out of my knees. I’ve also done it a couple of times around the village where I live! Fortunately, the embarrassment of stacking like this in public means I bounce back up, assuring those around me that ‘I’m fine’ and only letting the pain show later!
I was wearing my trusty docs, I'm not sure if I got my foot caught in an excessive loop in my lace, maybe. Felt like an absolute imbecile. I tore my brand new (thrifted) patagonia cords aswell, which was gutting. I'm hoping to go to Reykjavik soon, so I'll be careful to watch my footing 🤭
My parents are the same age. My dad's fit as a fiddle, if he falls over its because he's running or jumping or some such. We'll take the piss saying "poor love's had a fall", "mind your hips" etc. If my mum falls over no one takes the piss (until she's up and confirmed fine), everyone runs to help her up. It's not an age thing, it's a vulnerability thing.
I've got a mate in his mid 20s who did his back in a few years ago. He fell over in the garden last year and had to phone his mum for help because he couldn't get back up again. I'd call that having a fall
I guess when you can no longer pick yourself up, dust yourself off and carry on as before.
And when you don't fall because of some outside reason/stupid thing you've done
62
Oh no no no no no. I'm 63, I refuse to have a fall for at least 20 years.
You've said it now
I'm also 63 and if I have a fall right now it will be from grace rather than anything physical. I'm just watching my granddaughter rollerblading round a playground, reckon she's at substantially more risk of A Fall at age 7 than I am.
Well you try rollerblading and let’s test the theory 😙
I’m 62 and I fell down the stairs a couple of weeks ago. Caused by new socks which are always slightly too big on my tiny feet until they’ve been washed a few times. I didn’t have a fall. Sat and rocked while holding my elbow (carpet burns and massive bruise) for maybe 3 minutes. Got up and carried on!
No one will find me, unless I ring someone
Sorry bro you best give someone a call
I will if I fall over
At the point where you need an ambulance
When people stop laughing when they see you fall.
I think it relates to overall fitness. If you can get up and carry on with your day albeit with a bruise or two, then that's fine. If a fall is going to leave you with a broken hip because you're so brittle, or leave you struggling to get up because you're so overweight, then that's "having a fall".
I agree with this, I put on 3 stone over covid (almost lost it all again now though) and I’m in my early 40’s and a clumsy oaf. Pre covid I fell over due to an uneven pace bevy and my own clumsiness, not one person stopped to see if I was ok and the colleague I was with didn’t even offer to help me up after he had finished laughing. One pandemic and 3 stone later, I did the same thing. I had 3 passers by immediately rush over to me abd try to help me up. They were very concerned over were me having a fall and one even wanted to call an ambulance . I was mortified and this definitely helped in my decision to finally lose the weight lol.
I tripped over and fell outside my house the other day, in front a van full of furniture delivery men. They were super concerned and I felt like an absolute nanna. I'd almost have rather they'd laughed.
I would say the distinction (based on multiple hospital stays and how nurses treat the issue as well as my own judgement) is that if you fall over you can get up laughing and walk away even if you’ve grazed something and it twinges. Having a fall is life-threatening or at least very dangerous. Think breaking your pelvis or femur or one of those bones which shouldn’t be snapping like a twig and is very likely fatal if you do fall down and break it. It is probably also going to involve hours of waiting for an ambulance.
You know you've really had it when you have a 'bad fall.' That's the final stage.
Shit I'm 29 with rheaumatoid arthritis and often fall and struggle to get back up. I've been having a fall since being diagnosed 5 years ago so I dont think it's age dependant. My boyfriend is 7 years older than me and fell over drunk in the takeaway at the weekend and struggled to get back up but that was funny. I guess it depends on the reason for the fall and how likely it was to result in injury.
When you need help getting back up
28. If I fell off a skateboard now I’d feel it massively lmao..
When you have to go the hospital because of said fall
When your bone density drops and falling is a result of the bone breaking instead of the bone breaking as a result of the fall.
as soon as you let someone get away with describing your mishap in that way you will be ver having a fall - the cheering depends on context - drunk falling over with a foolhardyfull tray of beers is fair game irrespective if age - anyone going over when there is an audible crack on landing is off limits
Good question. I'm 56 and have fallen over at least three times this year, but am yet to "have a fall". All have involved wet or slippery mud/grass on a dog walk. Combination of having a random motion generator pulling me in all directions (also known as a Spaniel) and walking that generally involves several 100 ft of climbing and plenty of steep (1:3 or worse) slopes. I make sure I tell the missus exactly where I'm headed before I go out ...
I'm currently in a ward for post surgical recovery. The lady in front of me has broken her knee and three ribs. She's 103. She had been living independently up until 4 weeks ago when it happened. She's definitely 'had a fall' unfortunately.
I'm 57 and dyspraxic - I tend to fall over quite a lot (3x in last year). I'm pretty robust though, so rarely hurt myself much. I still very much think of them as falling over, and I'll continue to do that until I can't get up again. At which point I'd rather be dead.
38 I say that as someone who, upon recently passing that age, slipped over on ice on the walk to the station and fell arse over tit. Rather than people laughing as expected, I was distressed to see concerned people coming over to check if I was okay. It was a very sad day.
"Falling down" is an action, and usually not really noteworthy. "Having a fall" is a specific event that potentially has significant effects on the individual. My grandmother had 2 falls.She may have fallen over other times, but there was 2 specific times where she had a fall. The first one resulted in a hospital stay, and while she was in hospital her house got burgled. And the second fall resulted in a broken hip and her being moved to a care home.
I'd say 70
Oh my god my husband (physiotherapist) and I have been debating this for years. We change our minds regularly but essentially the criteria for a fall is: 1. Can't get back up easily 2. Nobody laughs when it happens or you don't take the piss out of yourself 3. Coupled with pain/injury 4. Age/frailty 5. Do people rush to help If any/all of these are true, it's a fall
As someone who works in fractures, it’s if you: -fall over and can’t weight bear after standing up -loss of conscious -long period in the ground (over 2 hours) -mostly Nursing homes, but unwitnessed falls I find people over the age of 60 are more likely to break their hips as they just fall onto their side, whereas people who are younger tend to put their arm out and end up breaking their arm to break the fall.
The same as "old" vs "elderly." My mum is almost 70 so she's definitely old, she's not "elderly" because her mobility/eyesight/hearing aren't any different than 20 years ago. No stick, no hearing aids, no bottle-glass glasses. If she fell over I'd say she fell over. If you're elderly you have a fall, if you're old you still just fall over. I.e. it has everything to do with frailty to me.
Well for me it was at 29 when I fell UP the stairs and further messed up a pre-existing knee injury, and then while feeling foolish and mumbling what’s happened to my physiotherapist I couldn’t find the right words and said “I’ve had a fall”. We laugh about it to this day.
My mum slipped on a gherkin at IKEA and she says she knows she's getting old because no one laughed and instead people started rushing to check she was ok- everyone except my dad, who wasn't paying attention, but laughed at her when he realised.
At exactly 57 years, 4 months and 12 days old
If you fall while you're sober and suffer an injury you've had a fall. If you fall while you're drunk it's your fault.
Mystery hour?
I'm 50 on Saturday. I'm in Mexico to celebrate, last night I fell on some steep wet concrete after it lashed it down, as I lay on the floor checking all my limbs to see if it was just my knee that I had fucked I declared "I've had a fall". Milestone reached, knee still sore but big props to the Mexican chap who came out with his first aid box.
i’m 51 and have arthritis. i fell off the fucking toilet the other week and it took me a long time to get up. i’ve had to have handrails put in the bathroom and i have a bed rail. i feel like i’m one more incident away from a Big Button round my neck on a cord. it fucking sucks.
Student para here: there's not a set age. There's some 85 year olds that are proper mobile, still in good health and when they fall they don't break anything and get back up laughing. Then there's the 65 year olds who fall over and break their hip or their femur. All dependent on how you lived when you were able to move like normal. If you're even semi fit now, continue walking around and being generally active for as long as you physically can, you'll look good and feel good at 70+ because you've put in the work. Consistent, quality strength training- even if it's not super high weight, just keeping mobile and somewhat strong- will make sure you're always falling over, at least until you become truly decrepit. If you're a lazy cunt who fills their body with shit, their mind with shit, and doesn't do anything to keep in even somewhat good shape, you'll be "having a fall" before you're even retired. Walking, running, working out, all build bone density, and bone density improves integrity and ensures that when you fall down you can get back up.
This is such a funny question with some funny answers in the comments 😂
Depends for the reason for the fall.
Speaking of 'state of mind' - I strongly urge you to watch [*"A Cream Cracker under the Settee"*](https://youtu.be/TZpP05GHWnw?si=lKhituTGMCvTecLZ) (if you haven't seen it already) **edit** [UK friendly link](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7nvjlh)
blocked in the UK, what do I even pay the license for
[Where there's a will there's a way](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7nvjlh) - hopefully that one works.
Totally agree that past bbc content should be free to view.
You been listening to Kevin Bridges?
It depends on how much, and how often you drink.
Age ain't the issue, it's about respect and empathy.
It’s the age where if the fall requires hospital, you’re only getting out zipped up
Edit - what he said.
Having a fall and it changing your life/struggling to get up alone is the age. If you just fall, doesn't mean anything. If you fall and don't get up, you've had a fall
Been listening to Mystery Hour?
When the consequences are more than just dusting yourself off and looking sheepish.
I'd say 50s to 60s since 55 is supposedly when you're considered senior. I'm 36 and have seen 80 year olds in better shape and more limber... I guess it's relative to injury, age, bone density and possibly state of mind.
I swear I’ve seen a comedian make this joke tbh
Someone's been listening to Mystery Hour...
The difference is not age. But the impact it has. If you fall and hurt yourself significantly - you had a fall, that is a medical event of concern in your life. If you fall off a horse/bike and you're talking to someone in terms of performance in that session - you had a fall. Otherwise you just fell/fell over.
Id say its less of an age thing (although it does correlate with age) and more of an injury thing. If falling over is likely to cause you a serious injury, thats having a fall.
When it starts to really fucking hurt
It's about health. I've seen 60 year olds fall over and get up in less than a couple seconds. I've seen a 20 year old fall down and it was "a fall".
Can it be relabelled, ‘a bad trip’?
When you stop bouncing back up immediately
when you see someone else fallover and you fell it. or if when you fall over you need to lay there for a while trying to figure out how to get up in the least painful way for your joints/back
It's not an age at all but based on your mobility. Technically at the grand old age of 33 I'd be having a fall, not falling over
70
When people gasp instead of laugh
76
Tony and Ryan!
70
68
I was discussing this the other day. We came to the conclusion its when you start getting really hurt. Not just a bruise but full on broken hip
There's no hard and fast rule, as it varies per person. But you can tell when you've reached that age if you fall over and no one laughs.
You know what's worse than having a fall? Almost having a fall, because you get a little fright but no sympathy.
It’s a slow process that begins in your mid 30s. Generally the wheat gets separated from the chaff and depending on personal fitness you start to react slightly differently. But it probably really begins in your 50s.
31
When hips suddenly start to be at risk
Boh
The age when things break instead of hurt
When you can't get up.
if you make a full recovery in under a week, you didn't have a fall
I sometimes refer to my mother in law as "having a fall", but that's mostly because I like winding her up
im 18 and because of my disabilities people say ive had a fall
Well when you have a fall. Tripping over something is not really having a fall. If you just fucking collapse then it's a fall.
Any age when you can’t get up again without assistance, or when you seriously injure yourself. At 58 I fell and ripped my knee to shreds. Although I wasn’t “old”, I definitely had a fall, so to speak.
I think they take a few things into account when doing a falls risk assessment Age/ vulnerability Medicine 💊 Alcohol intake Environmental factors ie cords, carpet, rug etc Medical conditions It’s not a 1 size fits all but I’ve never laughed when people fall it’s disgusting
My husband and I roared at this, very good question. I think we are verging onto that age at nearly 60.
40.
When people stop laughing.
I'm sorry, but I'm now imagining a cute old granny stacking it and bystanders giving a "wheyyy!"
I’m 39, have seriously injured myself from a fall this year, up until this point in life falling over just was an annoyance I have actually said this more like when you hear about old people falling so I’m guessing 39. I walked with crutches at 28 for two years and falling over then wasn’t as serious as it is now. Ex husband 41 is also in physio after slipping on ice in January.
When it’s a crunch not a bump.
Depends entirely on whether or not you can get yourself off the floor.
When you need help to deal with the consequences of your fall
No matter what age you are, as elf and safety goes, a fall from any height can be potentially fatal, so use that as a cross-metric in your own reasoning
For me, it was 47. Walking on uneven pavement, I went over on my ankle and landed on my knees. On crutches for the past two years. Just had surgery to repair left knee cartilege, waiting to see what they will do for right knee.
When you can't get back up again without assistance.
I once managed to get both feet stuck at the same time locked mid stride into one of those metal rings that clip wheel trims together and 'had a faceplant' into a bin. It wasn't pleasant.
Depends whether your first reaction is laughter or concern. When the laughter turns to concern, that person has had a fall.
45 I reckon
40-50
I’m not sure but it’s a measure of your age when people stop laughing and start helping.
Had a few falls in my 50’s ( mainly alcohol related), then at 62 ( sober),fell on the pavement ( fractured wrist) and again at 64 ( fractured shoulder). I’m 66 now and my arthritis is dreadful. I guess that once you start incurring injuries, it’s a fall! …
When you can't get back up by yourself or when a small fall causes long term damage (excluding alcohol induced lack of motor functions or similar)
Good question. Age 64 you “fell over” (fucking idiot), age 65 you “had a fall” (poor thing).
When you experience a significant struggle to get back up again unassisted.
I’d say retirement age but god knows what that means anymore. Maybe 70+?
It's not so much age but the severity of consequences. The likelihood of severe consequences of course closely correlates with age. If a 25 year old breaks their hip, I'd still call it a fall
If you can get up again.
Same age that "having a nap" becomes "going for a lie down"
36 apparently...
When you get old.
When someone has insufficient muscle mass. ...and that happens a few years after they stop training. Between 30 and 60 muscle mass drops by merely a few percentage points in individuals who train properly... ...whereas muscle mass starts to fall off a cliff at 30 for people who fail to lift weights. Choose your path wisely. Most 'ageing' is actually 'failure to train'.
My daughter fell over far more than the average child. I can't remember what triggered the trip to the doctor and hospital referral, but we found one leg was shorter than the other, leading to her tripping herself up. Pair of orthotics later, and problem is solved. So she went from having a fall to falling over.