INPUT ARTICLE: Article: When you are falling, you can reduce the chance of injury by tucking yourself into a ball and rolling. Not only will this tuck in your fragile body parts, but it will also reduce the impact your body will take when it hits the ground. There are various techniques to rolling successfully.  For a gymnastic roll, you want to place your hands in front of your body and tuck your chin down. Use your falling momentum to roll. You want to make sure you keep your body symmetrical as to avoid injury. This type of roll, when done correctly, may even carry you into a standing position.  A second type of roll is a parkour or asymmetric roll. The trick to this roll is to try and take the brunt of your fall with your shoulder before you begin the roll. Your goal is roll along your back in a diagonal fashion. This type of roll is preferable by martial arts and parkour experts as it protects your hands and vertebra. If you are falling and you see dangerous items like broken glass or sharp objects, try and propel yourself away as you fall by pushing yourself or rolling. If you can not avoid these dangerous objects, protect your face by covering it with your arms. You can visit a gym or a martial arts studio to practice falling on soft mats and padded floors. Just like anything in life, falling without hurting yourself will take practice! Minimize damage to yourself by practicing in a safe environment first. If you are falling straight down,  called a vertical fall, it is best if you look below and calculate your landing. You can look for a safer place to fall, or warn people if they are below you. There are also a number of techniques parachutists use in vertical falls to aid in safer landings.  Land on the ball of your feet and twist your body away from the direction of momentum. Try and press your knees together. Once you hit the ground, bend and twist so that your calf and your thigh muscles will hit the ground before your head and shoulders. Ensure that your head remains as tucked into your chest as tightly as possible. You want to avoid head and neck injuries at all cost. Humans have an innate fear of falling. However, it is best if you try and relax your limbs, especially your legs, when you fall. Tensing your muscles can cause more of an impact,  increase resistance and torsion and therefore, cause more injuries.  If you are falling backward, attempt to bend your knees and curve your back. This will help you relax before impact, minimizing jarring movements. If you are falling to the side, curve upward to avoid slamming your head into the ground. Keep your body relaxed and breathe to avoid tensing muscles before impact. Never try to break your fall! To protect your head from impact, keep your chin up and protect yourself with your arms. A common source of injury during falls is a laceration on the tongue from biting into it. Throughout the fall, try to keep your tongue planted on the floor of your mouth, tucked up behind your lower teeth, so that the impact does not cause your jaws to close on it and injure it. To avoid smashing your face or groin into the ground, try a triangle pose. This is a front fall designed by police officers. You want to maximise the surface area when you hit the ground by falling with your hands above your head in a triangle shape. Place your feet equi-distant apart and try and land on your toes (kind of like a push up position).

SUMMARY: Roll to safety. Avoid dangerous objects. Practice falling in a safe environment to become an expert in types of rolling. Look down and assess the situation. Relax. Protect your face and head when falling. Fall into a triangle pose.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Dislocated shoulders usually happen from sports injuries or falling on an outstretched arm. Signs and symptoms of a dislocated shoulder include: intense shoulder pain, an inability to move your shoulder, immediate swelling and/or bruising, and a visible shoulder deformity (it hangs lower than the other shoulder, for example). If you suspect a shoulder dislocation following some type of physical trauma, see a health professional (physician, chiropractor, athletic therapist) immediately for treatment.  Your doctor may take x-rays of your shoulder to confirm the dislocation and see if any bones are broken. Your doctor will either recommend or prescribe medication to deal with the intense pain of a shoulder dislocation. Remember that a dislocated shoulder is very different than a separated shoulder. The latter is a ligament injury to the joint that holds the collarbone (clavicle) to the front part of the shoulder girdle — the "ball and socket" shoulder joint is not displaced, as with a shoulder dislocation. Before you think about strapping or tapping your shoulder, the "ball" of your arm bone (humerus) needs to be relocated into the "socket" of your shoulder girdle. This procedure is usually called closed joint reduction and involves some gentle traction (pulling) and rotation of your arm in order to guide the bones back into alignment within the shoulder joint. Depending on the severity of pain, you may need a local anesthetic injection or strong pain killing pills.  Never let someone untrained (such as a friend, family member or bystander) try to relocate your shoulder — they may cause more harm than good. When your shoulder is relocated, the pain level should drop quickly and significantly. Immediately icing a relocated shoulder for about 20 minutes will help reduce inflammation and pain, but always wrap the ice in plastic or a thin cloth before applying it to skin. Strapping a shoulder that's still dislocated is always a bad idea and never recommended. Once the shoulder is relocated and the pain is reduced and under control, then it's time to prepare the shoulder area to be strapped. In order for straps and tape to adhere to the shoulder area, the skin covering the joint needs to be cleaned and shaved to remove any hair. As such, gently clean the skin around the shoulder with soap and water, then apply some shave cream and carefully remove any hair (if applicable) with a safety razor.  After you finish shaving the skin, dry the area thoroughly and wait at least a few hours for any skin irritation to go away. Then consider applying some adhesive spray just prior to applying any tape of straps — it will help the straps and/or tape stick to the skin better. Hair not only prevents tape from sticking, but it also causes pain when the tape and/or bandaging is removed at a later time. Depending on how much hair is present, you may need to shave around the shoulder, shoulder blade, nipples and the lower neck. Gather (or purchase from your local pharmacy or medical supply store) all the materials you need to properly and securely strap a dislocated shoulder. In addition to some spray adhesive, you'll also need some orthopedic underlay or foam (layers of gauze work also in a pinch). These will help to protect the sensitive nipple from the tape and straps. You will also need some rigid strapping tape (ideally 38 mm in width) and an elastic bandage (ideally 75 mm in width). Keep in mind that you'll very likely need assistance to strap / tape your shoulder, even if you have training and experience with the procedure.  If you are within the offices of an orthopedic doctor, physiotherapist, athletic trainer or sports therapist already, they will likely have all the materials needed to strap your shoulder. Family doctors, physician assistants, chiropractors and nurses may not have all the supplies needed, so consider bringing them with you. Going to an emergency department of a hospital is a good idea to get medication and your shoulder relocated, but they won't likely have the time or motivation to strap / tape it for you afterwards. They'll probably just give you an arm sling to wear instead. Strapping / taping a relocated shoulder can be beneficial or may even help to prevent a dislocated shoulder, but it's not considered medically necessary, so don't expect it to be part of your standard medical care.

SUMMARY:
See a doctor if you suspect a dislocated shoulder. Get your shoulder joint relocated or reset. Prepare the shoulder by cleaning and shaving it. Gather your necessary materials.