Originally Posted by
Doug64
One thing that will prevent many arm and collar bone injuries is not to use your arms to brake your fall. It is best to keep your hands on the bars and roll onto you shoulder as you come in contact with the ground. Using the body to decelerate the speed, and lessen the impact of a fall is a basic principle used in Judo.
Watch the way pro cyclists react in crashes especially in slow motion replays. Most often the ones that come out of the crash with their collar bone in one piece, keep their arms tucked to their sides and hands on the bars.
Yup, but we ordinary humans can't react that quickly. Especially not after age 50.
You mentioned judo. My sport is boxing. The most successful pro boxers into their late 30s and even up to age 50 were defensive masters. They knew they weren't as fast as they used to be. They couldn't rely on head or foot movement alone. So they learned new defensive tricks to slow opponents down to their preferred pace. Archie Moore, George Foreman, James Toney, Bernard Hopkins, Floyd Mayweather Jr. -- all defensive masters after age 30, thwarting younger, faster, often bigger and stronger opponents.
Most athletes learn tricks to avoid injury. They practice until it's instinctive and don't waste a split second thinking "Keep hands on bars, tuck in, roll left/right", etc.
Most of us who pursue physical activities don't actually practice methodical training. Practice doesn't make perfect.
Perfect practice makes perfect. We repeat motions and do the same stuff over and over. If we practice imperfectly, that's how we'll perform in emergencies. Even the best, most finely tuned athletes suffer injuries in training. Some experience more injuries in training than in competition.
That's probably the best argument for using protective gear to minimize injuries.