Advice or ideas needed

[Anyon]

Hi, i'm hoping some of you will be able to suggest a few ideas.

My Girlfriend took a tumble yesterday from around 13-15mph and landed on her head and knocked herself out. It was a quiet lane, and it although it was the one time i forgot to take my phone, i did know someone in the lane and after her coming round after 10 seconds and slowly checking out for any major injuries, we made a slow walk to use the phone and get a relative to take her up to A&E for a check over.

My issue is, that although she can ride a bike, she has a habit of not trying to "Break a fall" in anyway. She has come off her MTB a few months ago and again, same thing.

She can't remember how she crashed this time, and was behind me when i heard a screem and then the crash, followed by the murmor of coming around again. All the scratches are on the back of the knuckles, and top of the right shoulder and the right cheek. Her helmet is totalled and i've never seen one as badly damaged, Defo did its job! She just makes no effort to try and protect herself in the event of a fall. I've raced offroad motorsports since i was young, and have learnt to fall and roll as second nature, but i can't seem to explain it to her, as it is almost instinct.

Do any of you have any ideas on how i can get her to learn how to "Break a fall". Twice now she has just tensed up and just been driven into the ground. The first was her first or second time out, and relatively slow speed, this time was a bit quicker and although she is suffering with a banging headache and slight confusion, she has been very lucky. My fear is the next time!

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Markymark]

Are you sure she's not falling off because she's passing out whilst riding?

 

[jefmcg]

I'm probably the same, at least I don't consciously apply any technique during an off, but on the other hand, I've never had a serious injury in that manner.

But I have a suggestion: martial arts. They teach you how to fall, and that muscle memory might kick in while on the bike.

 

[ScotiaLass]

Are you sure she's not falling off because she's passing out whilst riding?

Seems a plausible explanation especially if she is making 'no attempt' to break her fall or control it in anyway.
Ask her to attend her GP for a check, which will include blood pressure (I have low BP and it can cause dizzy spells or fainting).

 

[jefmcg]

Are you sure she's not falling off because she's passing out whilst riding?

Good suggestion, but if there was a scream she was probably conscious.

A neurological exam might be worthwhile, and not a crazy idea after a head injury anyway.

 

[Sharky]

I've had a few falls. Front wheel slides, over top of handle bars, icy roads, hitting ruts in the road and confrontation with a car. In each case, I hit the deck without any attempt to "break my fall". It all happens to quick.

When you see the tour crashes, likewise, they just hit the deck without much attempt at breaking falls. So maybe it's not possible?

Keith

 

[Dave 123]

A mate of mine came off at fairly slow speed 2 weeks ago and he broke his fall.....

He broke the radial head of the lower arm as it meets the elbow.so breaking your fall can be just as troublesome.

Markymark has a fair point, as the natural instinct is to put your arms out.

Hope she mends soon.

 

[Profpointy]

if this is a regular occurance, then I'd focus on not falling off / crashing as it's really not normal to be crashing regularly - I'm being serious here, not having a dig

 

[Anyon]

Thanks for the replies all.

I hadn't thought about crashing being the result of passing out, but this is only the second time she has crashed, first time i was behind and saw what she did and that was a simple case of the cycle path having a raised edge, and she was overbalanced and the wheel wouldn't turn.

She is starting to recall a few things about the accident, still cant remember what happened exactly, but she does recall thinking just before impact, that she wasn't going quick so it wasn't going to hurt. Points towards not passing out prior, but she has another check-up in a few days, so we will ask about that then. (She isn't of the same opinion now, that it wasn't going to hurt!)

Martial arts is a good shout, and i think something like that would help, at least in the trying to protect head in the result of an accident. Its off to look for any courses like that here that she can go and try.

Thank you all.

 

[JasonHolder]

Good luck with your question mate.

I posted asking how to teach a girl how to stand and pedal, in the end I changed it to teaching her simple balance on bike which got me no where closer. Good luck getting advice on how to teach someone to learn to fall properly.

My 2pence though.

Its natural, some people just don't have it.
Half reflex and half greater sense of body/mind connection

Its more going with the fall rather than fighting it and causing more things to have a hard impact

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Wouldn't a bike handling course be a good idea, if she has a MTB your local trail centre would be a good place to start IMHO.
Understanding how to control a bike better might reduce the accident number.

I would have thought focusing on trying to keep her on the bike would be more productive than teaching her how to fall.

 

[John the Canuck]

maybe way off base but -

i started to ride my hybrid after it being in storage
i was ALL OVER the place - like i couldn't control the direction quick enough - glancing the kerb etc - had half-dozen falls

then found front wheel cones were really really loose
fixed = no problems since

 

[Berties]

Some would say is you going to fall don't fight it,you get less arm and shoulder impact injuries, but get some medical advice if your worried of black outs for her,and some sound riding advice from a cycling club

 

[tnr319]

A mate of mine came off at fairly slow speed 2 weeks ago and he broke his fall.....

He broke the radial head of the lower arm as it meets the elbow.so breaking your fall can be just as troublesome.

Markymark has a fair point, as the natural instinct is to put your arms out.

Hope she mends soon.

Dave, I don't think we've met. Seriously, two weeks ago I came off and broke my radial head! I tried to break my fall, so I agree with you completely.

I'm so bored now and I've got at least four more weeks recovery time.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Probably a good idea to have her checked for concussion specifically. I don't know if they did an MRI at the A&E, but I had an off with a concussion, as well as a good loss of blood. This was in the days before MRI, when they did brain scans. My Father told the Dr.-"No sense looking, we have seen no evidence of a brain so far..."