Nerves after Falls

[fsk8r]

I've discovered I'm becoming more of a nervous skater after hard falls than I used to be. The latest fall I managed to avoid hitting my head, but did end up going in shock as it was so severe. That put pay to that session and the lesson as I couldn't calm myself down I was so tense. However, it's carried over to the next time skating (to be fair I can still feel the bruises/muscle strains).
Little falls when there's no damage done except the odd bruise, I'm fine and can get back to skating (possibly slightly anxious about whatever just called the fall). But big ones and it becomes a matter of regaining confidence again as my comfort zone for close encounters with other skaters has grown to close to the size of the rink. Once the confidence is back, I'm flying around the rink like nothing's happened and not too worried about the kids cutting it a little fine.
Any suggestions on how to put the nasty falls to the back of the mind quicker? 

But if anyone is wanting a reason to do something like pilates. I did save myself from a concussion as the core was able to stop the body carrying on swinging backwards and bumping the head.

[Skate@Delaware]

After falling, I "get back on the horse" so to speak. Whatever caused me to fall (jump, move, etc) I do the same thing, although at a slower pace and repeat it while doing each successive one at a faster pace until I'm at my normal pace. Otherwise I'll end up a basket case.  It was worse after my concussion (I fell forward and whacked my chin) and I had a morbid fear of forward skating for a long time because I was off the ice for several weeks.

[Skittl1321]

I rarely fall.  I don't let myself.

As such, when I do fall, it rattles me terribly.  I'd say about 75% of my falls put me off the ice for the rest of the session.  Even if I get up, go get a drink, and do a lap around the rink, my legs shake terribly (sewing machine leg- visible twitching, not just shakey feeling) to the extent that I don't feel safe skating.  However, a drink, a lap, a few spins to regain my confidence (I like to spin) is the only way I can stay on the ice.  I can't just get right back to what I was doing.  In fact, most sessions I don't return to what caused me to fall if it was a jump.   The one time I fell off a horse, the horse was injured (he fell too, that's what caused me to fall) so the stable gave me a new horse to work with- I don't believe in getting back on the horse.  I take my time, and then I get on a different horse.


These are not after bad falls, just any fall.  Not counting in the harness (as it doesn't count, since coach pads the fall) I think I fell fewer than 10 times last year.

[sk8lady]

I think you have to figure out what works for you. I always get right back up and try the same thing again so I won't be afraid the next time but this might not work for everyone (I had a student who works on her family farm tell me once, "I don't get back on the horse. The horse wants to kill me." !!). It might help to have someone to spot you the next time you do whatever you fell on, or to wear protective gear--one of my students who fell and got a concussion started wearing a helmet afterwards and it helped her self-confidence a lot. Several of my friends wear pants with pads built in and other protective gear.

[Clarice]

I don't really worry about falls.  I don't fall all that often, but I guess I expect to fall from time to time, so it doesn't really bother me when I do.  Granted, I haven't had any potentially serious falls - no hitting my head or spraining my wrists or anything like that.  I did take a hard one last week with my dance training partner - our timing got a little off, and down we went.  It was actually kind of funny - I did sort of a tuck and roll, and he sort of took a dive over me.  No blood was shed, nobody got hurt.  It was a hard fall, though, and my hip is still feeling it.  But we weren't hurt, so we just got right back up and continued with what we were doing.  No sense wasting the ice time.  Perhaps it's because my mother raised me in the old "if it's not bleeding, you're fine" school of child rearing, I don't know.  I think fear of falling is a real obstacle for a lot of skaters, especially adults, but it's really difficult to make progress if you can't get past that.

[FigureSpins]

I'm not really afraid of falling while skating, it's that first step on the ice that freaks me out lately.  I've actually begun testing the ice before I step on it, to judge the ice height, it seems.  The rink has built up the ice near the doors, so I have to step up to get on the ice.  If my blades are warm, they melt right in and get stuck, so I put one foot on and swish it a little to cool the blade.

I've had a couple of bad falls, but they're not really from skating, they're from stepping on the ice in guards, catching a hole/rut while just gliding, or getting out of the way.

[fsk8r]

I've had a couple of bad falls, but they're not really from skating, they're from stepping on the ice in guards, catching a hole/rut while just gliding, or getting out of the way.

That's really my problem. I don't fall often. If I fall doing something (more likely steps and turns), then I get up and do it again (once I'm breathing!) but at my pace. The nasty falls are always the unexpected ones when not really skating. This one my blade got stuck in a rut when stopping backwards and I just carried on past the blade. I've done the click of death falls and they vary between being comical to very painful. Comical and I don't notice I've fallen, painful and the nerves kick in.

And I'm not really worried about me trying to kill myself, my nerves are that one of the kids is not going to notice and hit me (there's a lot of blind mice - I've decided eyes don't develop until they turn 16). It's that my comfort zone has grown from being reasonable compact and normal to being about half the rink, which isn't conducive to doing much on a busy freestyle session.

[momomizu]

My second worse fall was yesterday.  I was in the middle of doing a waltz jump and as I whipped my head around midair to see if anyone was behind me, BLIP, little kid right there. I ended up falling half forward hitting my side and arm then splaying and sliding. Got the whole nine yards with the snot as well. ick. I got back up slowly first and tried to skate it off but my side hurt too much and I couldn't catch my breath. Plus I was getting a headache from all the coccyx falls. So, I ended up leaving early. I felt I just coldn't bring myself to do another one with all those kids zipping through the middle and some older guy doing some fancy jump all over the place.
My worst fall was 2010 and I was learning BXOs. Click of death and I jammed the heel of the blade into the back of my thigh.  sat there for a minute then got up. It hurt but I stayed on the ice.

[rosereedy]

I fall...A LOT!  I fell once a few months ago so bad on a 2loop that I had a knot and huge bruise on my knee cap for weeks.  I wouldn't work on that jump anymore.  I do notice that when I am working on 2S and fall and fall and fall.  I just stop working on it because I am getting no where.  I do have occasional fall that scares the holy poo out of me and that is when I realize I need to work on something else.  I know a lot of top level skaters that have the same issue.  We're all normal!

[sarahspins]

I do notice that when I am working on 2S and fall and fall and fall.

I remember that's how it was for me as a kid.... all I'd do is fall, and occasionally land one, but it was pretty much just a sure-fire way to fall for me.  When I worked on them on the harness a few weeks ago, when I fell it was usually an "I can't hold the edge" after successfully landing the jump, then I'd step out and sit down kind of fall - easy, not the hard fall on the hip I remember from "losing" the landing edge.

Curiously I've noticed that some skaters don't tend to fall on jump attempts... there was someone working on 3sals at my rink recently and he didn't land any, but he never fell either, all of them were 2 footed - it almost made me consider that possible they've trained themselves to 2-foot those landings and not only is that why they don't have hard falls, but it's why they're not landing any either.  So it's sort of a catch-22.

[AgnesNitt]

If I'm by myself (no coach) and I fall, I'm loath to repeat the element again. But if coach is there, I don't think anything about it, and just repeat the element again right away.

I don't know why this is. Except maybe when I'm alone, a fall reminds me of how vulnerable I am.

[SynchKat]

I think Skate@Delaware had good advice.  Just slow down the step or element you were doing when you fell and work it back up to speed.  I think it also helps to just put it out of your mind.  I had a major fear of flying and went to see someone for help with it (eventually it helped more getting involved with my husband's family who are all pilots) but the therapist taught me to just "turn" around the negative thoughts.  So when you fall just get up, catch your breath, maybe stroke around a bit and tell yourself that you've done it many times without falling, that was a fluke so just go out and try it agaibreak it down, figure out what happened as best you can and move on.  

When I came back to skating after a hiatus I fell on the mohawk in the 14-step, a dance I had long passed, partnered for tests and taught.  I broke my arm and when I came back it took a few years before I'd do that dance again.

[Skate@Delaware]

If I'm by myself (no coach) and I fall, I'm loath to repeat the element again. But if coach is there, I don't think anything about it, and just repeat the element again right away.

I don't know why this is. Except maybe when I'm alone, a fall reminds me of how vulnerable I am.

Exactly! I was ALONE on the ice when I fell and had a concussion....if something serious would have happened, who knows WHAT the outcome would have been. I'm the "head injury" girl now.  I do bring it up to their attention if no one else is around, to check on the skater just to be safe.

Our sport can be dangerous but if we are mindful of what we are doing we can reduce the risk.

[ChristyRN]

Tomorrow will be my first time back on the ice since I fell (in the Christmas show) and broke my wrist.  I'm still in my cast, but have my orthopod's ok.  I promised to keep at least one foot on the ice and take it easy.  I'm a bit leery, but excited--it has been nearly a month...

[Isk8NYC]

Tomorrow will be my first time back on the ice since I fell (in the Christmas show) and broke my wrist.  I'm still in my cast, but have my orthopod's ok.  I promised to keep at least one foot on the ice and take it easy.  I'm a bit leery, but excited--it has been nearly a month...

Do be careful please.  The cast throws off your balance a bit.

[JSM]

I had a spectacular fall today on a back scratch spin.  My coach has been harping on me to really present myself coming out of spins, so on this first spin of the day I lifted my free leg high, readying myself to check out.  Inexplicably the heel of my blade on my free leg got caught in my leggings, and I couldn't remove it, and BAM.  I was caught so off guard!  (and now I have to sew the hole in my skating pants)

I did the spin again immediately, but you can bet I did my normal checkout!  It might be a while before I try that again...


The hardest falls of my life where when I was much younger, and fortunately I was young enough for it not to affect me too much.  When I was 9 or 10 I fell sideways on the ice right on my head, resulting in a severe concussion.  I puked for days, wasn't allowed to sleep for more than an hour at a time for a multiple nights, and was kept off the ice for a while.  However, I was anxious to get back to practice and excited when I could do so.  If that happened to me now, I don't know if I'd ever be able to skate confidently again!

[PinkLaces]

I rarely fall when I'm actually doing something.  It's when I am doing nothing that I take the bad falls.  My coach has me get  up and take a couple laps to settle my nerves.  That really seems to help me.

[Bunny Hop]

And I'm not really worried about me trying to kill myself, my nerves are that one of the kids is not going to notice and hit me (there's a lot of blind mice - I've decided eyes don't develop until they turn 16).

I could easily have written that sentence. I mean, I'm pretty keen not to do anything stupid myself that will cause me to fall, but I've never injured myself badly when falling (even the numerous times I've stuck my toe pick into the ice doing cross behinds), so I'm usually okay about that. But with the way the kids fly around, and in particular the small kids who can't see anything over five foot in height and three times their size, I'm far more worried about an injury causing collision than a fall on my own.

A lthough my comfort zone is better than it used to be, I still prefer to know there's a lot of space around me when I want to practice something because I know I can't stop quickly, and certainly can't react quickly enough to bail out in the middle of even simple moves.

[TheAquarian]

I personally wear vollyball pads on my knees just in case, although they are rarely needed.    When I was less experienced I also wore wrist guards.  I find that even if the padding isn't actually needed,  it acts as a security blanket to help build confidence. 

I've never had a fall where I was seriously injured so it's difficult for me to say how I'd react in that situation.   The worst I've had is a sprained ankle that kept me off the ice for a few weeks.   

The best I can suggest at this point is to trick your mind via whatever means you have at your disposal into believing that getting hurt is an impossibility for you on the ice, and in my experience,   you'll end up falling less and  recover more quickly when you do.

[fsk8r]

I wonder if a lot of my nerves are to do with having a weak back. I've spent just over 3 years recovering from whiplash. My back is currently very good normally. But any serious type of fall results in the back entering spasm. So while I want to just shake it off and carry on skating, I can feel my back spasming, and I can't drug myself fast enough to stop it (I also don't really want to drug myself unless I need to).
I'm wondering reading everyone else's comments about trying to shake it off, and struggling when there's an injury involved, if my problems stem from the fact that I can feel what's wrong. If it's a minor fall and the back's OK, then it's easy to shake off. If it's a major one and the back hurts, I get anxious. And my comfort zone shrinks because I've an association of collisions on the ice with collisions in cars (they are the same in a lot of ways). Blind skaters are much like idiots driving (I do worry about how these kids are going to be when they get their licenses).

So is there a good technique to mentally put the pain and the anxiety to the back of your mind?

[SynchKat]

Speaking as someone with back problems I would totally believe a lot of the anxiety comes from your back issues. Whenever I fall it's just so jarring and painful in that area. And isn't it amazing how falls we would have jut brushed off as a kid affect us so much more now. Heck my brother once fell on my head and I got up and finished out the session. Today I'd have been in the hospital.

The only way I can well with anxiety is to jut put it out of my mind. I will just tell myself it is an irrational fear so get on with it. I think it is more of a confidence thing. Your confidence get shaken so if you the. Go and do something you are super proficient at that helps. So I would say make the negative thoughts positive and do something to boost your confidence again.

[taka]

I have foot /ankle problems in one foot and my boot not feeling right somehow can really throw me off kilter sometimes and make me feel really nervous. It would not surprise me if it is you being ultra aware of your back when you fall that adds to the anxiety after falling.

After things scare me while skating I skate around just paying attention to my breathing, the feel of the ice (bumps etc), the feeling of gloves on my hands, the feeling of the wind in my face, the sound my blades make or whatever and just skate around paying attention to them and other things I never normally pay any attention to and take for granted.

It is called mindful meditation. It may not be your kind of thing but I find it really useful in anxious situations. It can be done while sitting or moving gently.

You don't concentrate on not thinking about the fall... just sort of notice and acknowledge it is there if your mind wanders back to it, then just bring your mind back to focusing on your breathing (or whatever works for you).

Mindfulness is really just paying attention to all the things you just take for granted or don't notice most of the time... and whatever is making you anxious sort of becomes less all consuming in your mind. It helps me anyway!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jan/22/how-to-meditate-mark-vernon

Once I feel a bit calmer I tend to a few things I know I can do well / easily. After I feel comfortable with them then I try whatever it was I fell on, slowly / gently / at the barrier / holding on to someone or whatever a few times. I then do it little and often, in between working on other things until I feel my confidence is back up again.

[drskater]

The only way I can well with anxiety is to jut put it out of my mind. I will just tell myself it is an irrational fear so get on with it. I think it is more of a confidence thing. Your confidence get shaken so if you the. Go and do something you are super proficient at that helps. So I would say make the negative thoughts positive and do something to boost your confidence again.

ITA!!! Although falls affect confidence, I think that skaters who really believe in their abilities have developed strategies to deal with ordinary AND bad falls. It's really a shame how much adult skaters beat up on themselves. There's alot to be said for simply plugging away despite setbacks. You should be proud of yourself for falling--it's a sign you're working, not failing.

[Skittl1321]

You should be proud of yourself for falling--it's a sign you're working, not failing.

I can't speak for others, but I am not ashamed of falling.  I don't take a fall to mean I have failed.

However, I have life experience that has made me scared of falling, and scared of the consequences of injury.  I've broken my neck before, and I know what it feels like to lay paralyzed in an emergency room.  Although I know it is highly unlikely a fall will cause such an injury, I think it is a rational fear.  After all, I've had a labral tear, a broken rib, and a broken tail bone skating.  Plus all the knee problems...  I don't fall the way a kid does.  It's not a "just get back up and get back into it thing".  It's a lot of wear and tear for me.  (I am just as scared of falling while walking outside in the winter.  It isn't just ice skating.)

[SynchKat]

Wow Skittl I can see why you might not want to fall.  How scary that must have been.  Good for you for getting out there and still trying.

I agree with not being ashamed or embarrassed about falling.  I believe skating is a work in progress and even the most proficient of skaters are still improving and learning.

But as far as falling goes you've just got to keep trying, you don't want whatever move you were doing to get the better of you and scare you senseless.    Don't let it win! 

(and ps sorry my last post was a bit garbled.  I was posting from my iPad)