Forums » Smalltalk » AMA Accident Prone doesn't begin to describe it..

We'll start with my favorite juicy 'get to know me' I use whenever I am put on the spot at work:

I have had 6 notable concussions spanning from the age of 5 till now at age 34. None of them were sports related injuries (unless you count being a bystander and getting hit with a bat??)

Moving on. Here are a few random items I'll throw out there but usually my accidents involve a great story that I'll leave out for now

I actually spent most of my time on and off of crutches in my teens due to constantly spraining my ankles.

This next bit is a fun one many clumsy people understand: I have had to, on more than one occasion, convince medical staff I was actually just clumsy and was indeed safe from everyone in my life (unless you counted my own inability to walk a straight line even sober). Shout out to all the nurses looking out though because had I been in need they would have been angels to me!! One such occasion involved me tripping over the arm of a car jack and fracturing my elbow.

I once dislocated my right knee and sprained my left ankle at the same time while attempting to sit down in a chair.

Thanks for stopping by and if nothing else I hope you chuckled a little trying to picture that last one.

Do you have any hyper mobility issues that make sprains and the like easier for you to sustain?

I do! I have the ability to hyperextend most of my joints without discomfort. When I was younger I was able to actually pop my elbow the opposite direction at will (until I fractured it when i fell).

It’s a bit of a double edge sword due to the fact that I tend to get hurt A LOT but the severity of the injury is a lot less often times because of my ability to bend weird. For example a friend slammed a car door on my hand by accident and not a single finger broke even though the door was completely shut and you could see the bruising of where the door trapped me.

Wow!! Has a doctor ever evaluated your hyper mobility?

Not outside of general “let’s see how bad you hurt it this time” evaluations. One doctor was entertaining as they pulled their student in to show them how weirdly far back my knees go on their own naturally 🤣 he kept holding my leg up like it was a prize. It wasn’t until recently that I even realized it was more than just being a little flexible!

Thanks for the chuckle.

1. So, have you had many close calls but you ended up fine afterwards with no injuries?

2. Why do you think you're so Accident Prone?

3. What is you're additude with being Accident Prone?

Have you ever heard of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome?

You sound like you might be a prime candidate for a diagnosis with so many hypermobility-related accidents! I struggled for many years with exactly the same sort of problems you describe and learning about this syndrome finally answered a lot of questions for me.

And what sort of things do you do to try avoiding accidents? Have you found any exercises, or aids like braces/wraps to be of any benefit?

1. Oh the number of close calls (which also usually have great stories) is endless. I’m often littered with bruises!

2. Honestly I am not completely sure there is a root cause outside of me being a bit …… spacey sometimes. Like walking I’m not just walking, I’m thinking about where I’m going, what I’m doing, and what I need to get done plus probably 100 other topics. By the time I end up on my butt in a field I don’t even realize I’m hurt until I see the injury. 😅

3. If I got mad every time I messed up and fell over I’d be in a pretty bad mood all the time. So mostly I enjoy the eventual funny story that I often hold onto until someone needs a chuckle or a distraction from their own problems for a moment ♥️

(Glad I gave ya a chuckle!!🤭)

I have not heard of that! I’ve always tried my best to be proactive when I’m doing anything that may cause me injury for sure but most things that sneak through are one off random things 🤣

I’ve made friends with many braces over the years (i am currently waiting for a new knee brace!) as well as your usuals for accident prone people (walking boots, air casts, and lots of ace bandages!) but even when I’ve been in those things I’ve found ways to twist myself up. Slipped on a pencil while wearing a walking boot once….. don’t recommend 🤣 but the flail probably looked epic from the outside.

Have you found things that have helped you??

I thought of Ehlers-Danlos as well the moment I read your starting topic, it sounds kinda textbook to me! That's why I was asking if your docs have evaluated for something like that, and I'm kinda surprised they haven't. But then again - I'm not a doctor, I just know people who have EDS and what they've told me about it. I understand that sometimes there are medications that help with it, and sometimes there can be long term consequences for leaving it untreated, which made me worry. But I know diagnosing someone from afar based on a few posts is daaangerous territory

Gosh yes it is easy to end up in rabbit holes of crazy things when you end up google diagnosing yourself at 3am haha.. However I have to say I am SUPER excited to have learned about this because I did not know this was even a thing. Ariel even suggested a really awesome ring style that could be helpful with my finger issues! So if nothing else this has been an amazingly wonderful eye opening bit of information.

I looked up to see if there were any doctors in my area who would specialize in EDS and found literally one person within my distance! I am definitely going to be talking to my doctor about this as I feel like my mother would benefit from the information as well!! You guys are amazing