Why do we put our weight towards the side we fall when trying to balance?

Question

I’ve always wondered why when you start to go off balance, you automatically swing to the side which you are falling.

Surely it would make more sense to swing the other way in order to counterbalsnce the falling motion?

In: 0

Answer 1

You know how you can press against a wall to steady yourself? This works because the wall pushes back.

The act of moving your body (or a part of it) toward the falling side creates inertial momentum, a force like the wall against which you can push to return yourself to a condition of stability, from which you may then withdraw whichever body part you thrusted against.