how to fall toeside

Question
hello!
i just had a terrible accident when i went snowboarding.  i fell forward (toeside) and i busted my right humorous bone right off of my shouler.  this injury ends my snowboarding season and i cant play any contact sport untill june!  the injury happened jan 16th and ever since i have been looking online 2 communicate with someone and get the basics on how to fall to help prevent a serious injury again.

thanks  

Answer
Hey Zach,

Sorry to hear about your accident. There are two safe ways to fall to help avoid injuries. When falling, we always tend to put our hands out to catch ourselves. This usually leads to sprained or broken wrists, jammed/injured fingers, or similar injuries.

When falling forward you should keep your hands in fists and bend your arms so that when you land, you land on your forearms. This allows a stronger part of your arms to take the impact.

When falling backwards, you should pull your arms and elbows in and allow your body to land on your backside. Your hips and butt can take a much harder impact than an extended arm.

Not sure what caused your accident but many falls with injuries happen due to inexperience, riding on runs above skill level, trying tricks without proper training, or just catching an edge at the wrong time. Most of these things can be prevented with an extra lesson or two, more time on a snowboard, and proper training on doing tricks. Try to replay what happened to you and then try to figure out what the cause of the fall was. Learning that will help you prevent it from happening again in the future.

Hope you heal up okay. Don't get impatient when you start feeling good. You won't be fully healed until the doctors say you are.

Take care and ride safe,
Windlover