Falls from trees

A prospective review of sixty consecutive patients who fell out of trees in a year was made. Fall from tree is an occupational hazard of traditional farmers, a rare cause of trauma, but a common cause of severe, crippling and often multiple injuries. It frequently resulted in spinal injury, and was the commonest cause of traumatic quadriplegia and paraplegia. The risk of fall and of sustaining spinal injury increased with age. Some school children also fell from fruit trees but they generally stood a better chance of getting away with relatively minor injuries. Methods of preventing or minimising the risk of this injury in farmers are highlighted.