Another important factor affecting

Another important factor affecting the severity of injury is A, the contact area between two impacting bodies. If the force of a falling object striking a body is distributed over a large area, the severity of injury will be less than if the same force were applied to a small area. For example, a pointed object or sharp edge is more likely to cause injury than a flat object or rounded edge. In general, a similar relationship exists for a person landing fol- lowing a fall. The force of impact Fi is