The winter brings a number of activities that may leave an individual susceptible to a strain, a fracture, or some other type of sidelining injury. The onset of the season will have people engaging in chores that they maybe haven’t worried about in months. As such, muscle groups may have become weak and strength overall may have waned, setting the stage for a potential injury.
Thankfully, there are precautions you can take that will allow you to overcome most of the injury risks you could potentially be exposed to. A new report takes a look at how to avoid those things that could contribute to an injury during this colder time of the year.
If you live in an area where snowfall and ice accumulation are common, then you have to worry about slipping and suffering an injury on your way down. A foot that catches in just the right spot can twist into some fairly unfathomable positions, causing you to suffer an injury on your way down and additional damage once you strike.
Try to minimize the possibility of a slip by altering your gait. You want to plant your feet with confidence; if you shuffle across the ground, your feet touch the surface for a longer period of time and you could slip. But by the same token, you don’t want to reach your feet out so far that the slightest slip could cause you to tumble. Take short steps while still lifting your feet off the ground so that your center of gravity remains tucked in toward your body rather than away.
When you begin to fall despite your precautions, do not panic by sticking a leg or an arm out to attempt to right yourself. This actually makes the possibility of an injury even greater, as the foot can be twisted awkwardly or your arm could snap. Instead, let your body take the brunt of the damage rather than your limbs. You’ll be better suited to recover when you fall in this manner.
One area where a slip and fall risk increases dramatically is in shoveling snow, an activity made perhaps even more perilous when you consider the weight that is often hoisted during such an action. In fact, the best way to reduce injury risks in this regard is not to lift at all. Rather than focus on heaving the snow behind you or off to the side, try to get in the habit of simply pushing the snow. That way, you’re using your own momentum to your advantage.
If you have no choice in the matter, then lift as you would any other weight. Get your knees into it rather than relying entirely on your back.
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