Not using your hands to break a fall?
 

I've now seen two weekends in a row where cyclist have crashed and *not* used their hands to break their fall. The conventional wisdom is that if you stick your hands out to stop your fall you'll break an arm/hand/wrist badly.

But I don't get it, in one of these crashes the cyclist whacked his head on concrete pretty hard. Sure he was wearing a helmut but one can still get a head injury can't they?

Does anyone practice this idea of not breaking your fall with your hands?

Not I. Using your hands is supposed to transmit the shock to the clavicle and cause breaks. But is that worse than landing on the edge of the clavicle as you surely must without your hands? I have been using my hands for 34 years through at least 20 falls. The only time I broke my clavicle was when I hit it on the ground anyway. Anecdotal? Sure. But at least that is my experience.

You are supposed to tuck and roll. None of my crashes have ever been a situation where I could tuck and roll. The few crashes where I was going head first into a rock, arms went out to protect the head. I'd take a broken collar bone over a skill. One guy I rode with couldn't tuck and skidded on the ground with his face. That was not pretty. I asked him why didn't he stick his arms out, his reply was people told him never stick your arms out.

Not using your hands to break the fall, is a really bad idea in most situations. I've never understood this logic.

Falls can happen so fast (front wheel giving way on slick surface, for example) that there is not time to react by putting out the hands. I came off on a corner that was damp, coarse chipseal and sprinkled with diesel from a bus. Landed on my right shoulder and didn't put my arms out at all. Dislocated the shoulder, but no road rash to speak of. Weird from that point of view.

If you look at the pros, often when they go down they are still holding on the handlebars and they are still clipped in to at least one pedal with the bike on top or beside them when they stop.

It's the low-speed tip-overs that can cause more pain/damage, in my experience. Quite a while ago, a curb hop went wrong and I went over the bars, putting out both hands to brace the fall. I though I had broken both wrists, but fortunately didn't. The bike ended up perfectly balanced on the handlebars and seat!

I think it's the collarbone that usually breaks if you put out your arm.

This is true, but would you rather break your collarbone, or suffer a brain injury?

Depends on environment/situation. If I'm moving slow, I would stick out my hands to break my fall. But if I'm going too fast, I would just hold on handlebar and keep my head away from ground.

Last time, I crashed my bike at slow speed, I didn't stick out my hands because of big rocks on the shoulder, I just tuck and held on handlebar. I ended up just a minor scrape on my calf and arm. Like I said depends on the environment/situation.

Context again. A non-functioning arm after breaking the collarbone isn't going to stop the head from hitting the ground at 25mph, if the head was headed for the ground anyway.

There are ways to use your hands and arms to break a fall, and ways not to. Don't put your arms straight out from your body, straight at the ground. Don't lock the elbows. Other than that, that common advice of "don't use your arms" is just bad advice.

side fall back fall explains the front fall http://parkour.wikia.com/wiki/Breakfalls

You use your hands and arms in all of these, and even in the front dive roll.

Damn, I thought sure it was the clavicle. ;)

I see you don't understand how "crumple zones" work on automobiles.

Don't insult me with drivel like that. Automobiles are not human beings riding bicycles. The human head also is a lot heavier than you allow for, and no amount of bracing by an arm is going to slow or reduce its impact at 25mph. Why do you think airbags have become a fact of life in automobiles?

I've only had one serious wreck on a road bike and I didn't have time to decide what to do. I was lollygagging, hit a stick and next I knew I was over the bars and on my face. Got a big gash from my sunglasses, lucky they didn't get my eye. Probably would have chosen a collarbone.... Another time I was nearly stopped and realized I was going down on some slippery pavement. I tucked my arms in and took the hit on the side of my upper arm. I was on a multi-day ride and was able to continue with just a bruise and some scrapes. I think if I have time to decide, I'll ball up, tense my muscles and take the hit. I think I've read some promotion of that method somewhere.

I fractured my right hand a few weeks ago sticking it out to stop me in a crash. I definitely prefer that result over letting my head/face take the fall. :)

Can't remember ever having a fall (most in motorcycles, very few on bicycles) where I got to decide what to do. I've never broken anything.

I've also never had time to react during a crash. Luckily, the one time when I was thinking about how to crash, I ended up being able to avoid the crash.

For my last crash, I fell on ice and broke my hip. You better believe that if I had a choice, I would have preferred a broken clavicle. My hands stayed on the bars because I was down on the ground before I had time to think.

For the crash before that, I hit a large rock (stupid, I know) and it was a similar thing. My hands were on the bars because I was on the ground so quickly. I took most of the impact on my shoulder and elbow. It was almost an inadvertent tuck and roll. In this case I was lucky that I didn't stick my arms out to break my fall. I probably would have broken a clavicle or a wrist.

Do you know for sure that the person who crashed and hit his head did that on purpose, or did he not have time to react?

You just helped to prove my point, and don't even realize it.

Maybe you've suffered too many brain injuries to understand how crumple zones work.

Believe whatever you want.

What point... that extending an arm and breaking a collarbone is the equivalent of a crumple zone in an automobile?

Insults are the domain of people who haven't a clue what they are talking about.

Rowan: with 15,000 posts and a legacy of wisdom shared, you deserve nothing but respect. On this one though, I'm going to offer a very respectful disagreement. The energy from colliding objects needs to go somewhere. I was recently hit head on by a big SUV-my frame broke in four place, one of my carbon rims cracked, and the hand I put out as I was launched across the hood reduced the damage to a dented helmet and a few stitches when my face was planted in the windshield. Without the hand, the damage would have been much worse.

I've had several crashes where I went down so fast that my hands were still on the bars. In one I tore my glove on the back side. Still have the scar on my knuckle.

Back in middle school (we called it Jr High School) I played football and we were told/taught not to use our hands when falling (or being tackled). But of course we did wear protective equipment.

I've always tried to protect hands and elbows when falling. I try to roll with any fall (not that I fall that often). Sometimes I've fallen with little or no damage. Other times things didn't go so smooth. I have never regretted keeping my hands close.

I attended a health fair thingy a few weeks ago. And they brought up the increased/additional higher risk associated with elderly (over 60) and head injuries. Apparently changes within the mature brain makes it much more susceptible to injury. Even head bumps that may not seem serious. Or head bumps where the skin/surface is protected by a helmet. They say now... it is best to get checked out soon after any head hit. This seemed like a good place to share that.

I was always told to fan your fingers on the bar so as to not have a death grip. If you tuck as you drop then your head gets protected somewhat...especially if you are wearing your helmet correctly (that's for another thread)
Last time I needed to drop and tuck without breaking my fall with my arm/hand I broke a rib when I was stabbed with the edge of my heart rate strap.

You take it on your side and try to roll enough to avoid hitting your head, I would think. That hurts like hell too.

And for me in grammar school we were taught "tumbling" in PE. I suppose now they probably call it gymnastics. I have long thought those classes have saved me from many more serious injuries over the years. There is something to learning about how to and how not to hit the ground. Breaking a fall with a stiff arm or stiff leg is probably not the right way to do it. At this point, for me, there is no thought process - the reactions are automatic.