It’s the holidays and everyone is busy cooking, buying gifts and traveling. While we are all excited for the holiday season and doing our normal preparations there is one thing that might be getting overlooked and that is your health and safety. Now as expected during the winter snow as well as ice are a common occurrence. Now it comes as no surprise that a lot of injuries occur during the winter due to the snow and ice and that is where PT Finder comes into play, if you happen to find yourself with an injury during the holidays PT Finder can help you find the best physical therapists in Suffolk County that will get you on the road to recover.

One kind of injury most people aren’t aware of what happens during the holidays results from shoveling snow. Every year thousands of people are injured and as many as 100 deaths are due to snow shoveling. Now, why is this? Snow shoveling isn’t a dangerous sport, it’s just a chore that comes with living in certain areas. Wrong. If you are lifting pounds of snow after not being physically active for a long duration of time, that lifting puts a lot of strain on your heart. Even if you are a healthy person and shoveling doesn’t bother you, the cold can cause issues. Cold temperatures increase one’s heart rate and blood pressure and this can cause the blood to clot more easily as well as constricting the arteries. If you must shovel here are some tips to keep you safe.

 

• Take it slow and stretch out before you begin

• Shovel only fresh, powdery snow; it’s lighter

• Push the snow rather than lifting it

• Lift with your legs, not back

 

Now we covered one of the kinds of injury that occur; let’s discuss the most common injury during the winter and that is falling on the ice. 1 million injuries in American can be attributed to ice and 17,000 deaths as well. The most common injuries sustained from ice falls include.

 

• Muscle sprains, strains-the most common injury occurs in the ankles, wrists

• Compression fractures-this kind of injury is most common in senior citizens

 
Here are some tips to keep you safe on the ice this winter:

• Wear boots or shoes with good traction

• Boots with good ankle support

• Take your time

 

If you find yourself dealing with an injury this winter PT Finder can help you by pointing you in the direction by helping you find the Best Physical Therapists in Suffolk County.

Have a Happy and Safe Holiday Season!