In praise of bike helmets
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I fell off my bike on Thursday. Not a crash in traffic, I was just dismounting.
I misjudged the height of my right leg/foot clearing the saddle, so I went down.
I think it’s a matter of losing flexibility with age. It IS a tall saddle height that’s worked for the last 25 years, but maybe I need to do other exercise to stay flexible.
Anyway, although I don’t think my head hit the ground, and my (brand-new) helmet looked unscathed, I could feel that something moved inside my skull. No disorientation, and I put the bike in the car and drove home normally.
I went to the urgent care a few hours later, and they tested my reflexes, and said don’t worry unless I get dizzy or confused or nauseous, or experience vision changes, but if I do, go to a hospital.
So my head felt achy for a couple of days, but it’s getting better. I seem to have all my faculties and I’m practicing effectively.
I do feel the effects on other body parts. My neck, shoulder, hip, elbow, knee are sore. I feel like I’ve been in a bar fight.
But thank goodness for bike helmets. Maybe it could have been worse.
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I fell off my bike on Thursday. Not a crash in traffic, I was just dismounting.
I misjudged the height of my right leg/foot clearing the saddle, so I went down.
I think it’s a matter of losing flexibility with age. It IS a tall saddle height that’s worked for the last 25 years, but maybe I need to do other exercise to stay flexible.
Anyway, although I don’t think my head hit the ground, and my (brand-new) helmet looked unscathed, I could feel that something moved inside my skull. No disorientation, and I put the bike in the car and drove home normally.
I went to the urgent care a few hours later, and they tested my reflexes, and said don’t worry unless I get dizzy or confused or nauseous, or experience vision changes, but if I do, go to a hospital.
So my head felt achy for a couple of days, but it’s getting better. I seem to have all my faculties and I’m practicing effectively.
I do feel the effects on other body parts. My neck, shoulder, hip, elbow, knee are sore. I feel like I’ve been in a bar fight.
But thank goodness for bike helmets. Maybe it could have been worse.
@RealPlayer oh dear that sounds very scary! I’m glad it wasn’t worse! But be vigilant with yourself for awhile.
About 10-12 years ago, I was walking (half running actually) and I slipped on the ice and fell, very hard. I had on a backpack which I think was why my head didn’t hit the concrete. But my brain got knocked around in my skull and the next day I was dizzy and nauseous, so I went to urgent care and they diagnosed me with a concussion. I didn’t exactly get better and a week or a a few weeks later I was diagnosed with post-concussive syndrome, which is a type of MTBI “mild traumatic brain injury.” Ultimately it took several months to recover. I “listed” when walking for probably over a year after that.
All that to say, just because you didn’t hit your head doesn’t mean you didn’t hurt your brain. So be alert for any new symptoms, dizziness, headache that doesn’t go away etc.
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Yikes! Glad you came out (mostly) OK!
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@realplayer Glad to hear you weren't badly injured.
I read somewhere that as we age our brains shrink a bit and that there can be more movement inside the skull if the head moves or stops quickly. Good excuse to stay off of roller coasters!
Even when we're in fairly good physical shape as we get older our flexibility, strength, and reaction times all get a bit worse. I figured that out when I did a near-face plant on our front porch. Twice, about eight years apart. Just didn't quite pick my foot up enough when stepping onto the porch.
Besides doing some strength and flexibility exercises, I am much more mindful of how I move about. I try to be sure I'm aware of what might be on the floor so I don't trip over it, and I concentrate when going up/down stairs. Looking down through progressive lenses is a bit tricky when descending stairs; focus isn't ideal. And I always have one hand on a handrail if at all possible.
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There are a number of YouTube videos showing different ways of mounting and dismounting…from simple to virtuosic. I’m going to try leaning the bike lower to the left before swinging over.
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@RealPlayer oh dear that sounds very scary! I’m glad it wasn’t worse! But be vigilant with yourself for awhile.
About 10-12 years ago, I was walking (half running actually) and I slipped on the ice and fell, very hard. I had on a backpack which I think was why my head didn’t hit the concrete. But my brain got knocked around in my skull and the next day I was dizzy and nauseous, so I went to urgent care and they diagnosed me with a concussion. I didn’t exactly get better and a week or a a few weeks later I was diagnosed with post-concussive syndrome, which is a type of MTBI “mild traumatic brain injury.” Ultimately it took several months to recover. I “listed” when walking for probably over a year after that.
All that to say, just because you didn’t hit your head doesn’t mean you didn’t hurt your brain. So be alert for any new symptoms, dizziness, headache that doesn’t go away etc.
Oh gosh, glad you're OK, RP.
So be alert for any new symptoms, dizziness, headache that doesn’t go away etc.
For sure. Several years ago a co-worker was in a taxi that had to stop abruptly. He lunged forward and hit his head on the partition separating the front of the cab from the back. He didn't think too much about it. A neighbor, hearing his vacuum running non-stop, found him the next day slumped on his bed, dead. Bleeding from his ear.
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