Falls

A very large number of admissions to hospitals come from falls which are defined as movement of people because of gravity. The vast number of personal injuries, both small and very serious and even fatal, is particularly common in elderly people where their vision and muscles are weakened. In addition, some elderly people taking multiple prescription medication may also lose balance, which combined with slower reaction times often prove serious, with their bones often being more susceptible to major damage. Although large numbers of children and adolescents are also involved in falls, their simple injuries often heal relatively easily; however, others have sustained serious injuries through risky behavior. According to figures for 2002 issued by the World Health Organization, some 392,000 people died from falls that year. Although many falls have resulted in deaths, others result in breakages of bones, bone fractures, or muscle and/or tendon injury or sprain.

Throughout history, there have been many people who have been injured from or died as a result of falls. In Greek mythology, Icarus fell from the skies after flying too close to the sun, and the heat from the sun melted the wax which held his wings together. Although falling over, falling off a cliff or other natural formation, have always led to medical problems, falls by rulers have sometimes been seen as ill omens. Duke William of Normandy fell in the sand when he landed on the beach at Pevensey, on the south coast of England on September 28, 1066, prior to the Battle of Hastings. While his men thought it was a portent of disaster, William rose with his hands clutching sand claiming it represented his seizure of England. Julius Caesar, suffering from epilepsy, also fell to the ground on some occasions, but suffered no injuries. U.S. President Gerald Ford also became famous for two public falls.

Until recently, falls from horses have led to large numbers of deaths and injuries, and still cause death and injury. Ptolemy VI “Philometor” of Egypt died after falling from his horse during battle and Alexander III of Scotland died when his horse fell over a cliff. Some of the important historical characters who have died from falling from horses include Pippin III, father of Charlemagne; John I, king of Aragon and his cousin John I, king of Castile; and James, Earl of Cardigan, who led the British cavalry at the Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854. William III of Orange, King of England died from injuries sustained after his horse tripped over a mole hill, leading to his enemies, the Jacobites, toasting “the little man in black.” Many jockeys have been killed or injured by falling from horses during races. People have also been injured or killed falling from trains, buses, and occasionally even from cars, usually when hanging on to them. The biggest fall from which someone survived was by Vesna Vulovi who, in 1972, survived a fall from 33,000 feet without a parachute.

Some people engaged in high-risk activities have also been killed in falls. Mountaineer Francis Maitland Balfour, founder of embryology, died from a fall from [Page 657]Mont Blanc, and British Everest mountaineer George Mallory almost certainly died from a fall while climbing Mount Everest. Circus acrobat Karl Wallenda died from a fall from a tightrope in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and many circus performers have been injured in falls during trapeze or other acts.

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