University of FloridaSolutions for Your Life

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Publication #FCS2233

Fall Prevention: How to Handle a Fall1

Leigh Ann Martin2

Follow these steps to decrease the chance of further injury after a fall.

Don't Panic
After a fall, panic is often the first reaction. It's important to stay calm so you can think clearly and get help fast.
Check for Injuries
Check your body for broken bones. If you are injured, don't get up. Yell for help or crawl to the telephone and call for help.
*Make a list of phone numbers of people you can call in an emergency. Keep the list by your phone. If you need help immediately, call 911.
Get Up if You Can
If you can get up, do so slowly. Here's how to get up safely:
1. 

Roll over onto your side
2. 

Crawl to a chair
3. 

Pull yourself up
4. 

Turn and sit down

Footnotes

1.

This document is FCS2233, one of a series of the Family Youth and Community Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date: April 2005. Visit the EDIS Web Site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Leigh Ann Martin, MS, former assistant-in, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. Reviewed by Linda B. Bobroff, PhD, RD, LD/N, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, University of Florida.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Millie Ferrer-Chancy, Interim Dean.