MTB falls, how to save yourself ?
Below you can find the transcription of the video.
Falling is the only problem with mountain biking. Everyone, to a greater or lesser extent, has fallen and will probably continue to do so because it is part of the game, and without adrenaline, this sport would not be so exciting. The problem is that you fall on rough terrain, on roots, stones, rocks of any shape and size that increase the risk of injury: wearing the appropriate protection is very important. Another problem is that you can fall in countless ways, so it is not possible to define a falling technique that can save you in all situations, and often you can only rely on luck.
That said, there are some physical concepts that, being always valid, can come in handy, if learned, to limit the damage of a fall. The first concept is that of energy. Without going into technical details, it is useful to know that the more energy a rider has, the more likely he will get hurt.
Neglecting jumps and drops, that is with the rider on a straight path, the only energy that it possesses is the "kinetic" one that depends on its mass and above all on its speed. Being overweight therefore increases the risk of getting hurt, but the greatest risk is a speed exceeding our abilities. Having so much energy means being subjected to potentially strong forces during a fall, the ones that can cause the injury.
The second physical concept that can be useful to know is that kinetic energy is dissipated by forces that cause the moving body to stop. The longer the braking space, the less intense the forces will be; on the other hand, sudden braking involves high stopping forces. It is therefore clear that in the event of a fall, the longer we can extend the space needed to stop the lower the impact forces will be. Vicecersa instantaneous impacts with an immediate stop of the rider develop intense forces and an increased risk of injury.
The third and final concept is related to the mechanics of materials. The force per unit surface called "stress" is analyzed when studying the strength of a material. This is because a large force applied to an extended surface can stress the material less than a small force concentrated on a point. Bone tissue behaves like all other materials. We can therefore understand how useful it is during the fall phase to try to impact with as large a surface of the body as possible, to minimize the stress on the bones and avoid possible fractures.
A fall occurs in a few moments and you do not have time to think and act consciously, the only possible actions are the instinctive ones. The theory to limit the damage is the one explained, now all you have to do is to train by devising specific exercises. An idea for all schools and mountain bike teachers.
If you are interested in the topic, more details can be found by reading "The science of Mountain Bike riding: the physics behind MTB skills" which contains all the topics, addressed to all MTB enthusiasts.
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