The freezing cold of January is now upon us, and the likelihood of ice in places you may not expect it has gone up considerably.

With that in mind, Clint Lutterman, Rehabilitation Director for 21st Century Rehab at Dallas County Hospital says it’s important to be careful when out walking during the winter. Areas that are typically slipping hazards include sidewalks and parking lots, and Lutterman recommends a change in your stride. “If you’re out walking and it is slick, or you know that there might be issues, (try) taking smaller steps. Just try and keep yourself balanced. If it’s really slick, they call it like a ‘penguin walk,’ taking short, shuffling steps. You’re not really exposing yourself to too much risk there.”

Lutterman adds, if you do slip on the ice, a good idea is avoid the instinct to stop the fall. “The natural reaction is to stick your arm out and catch yourself. The best reaction is to actually try to roll. So roll with your fall, just kind of go with it. Don’t try to fight it, because that’s usually when you end up breaking a wrist or you break your arm, you hurt your shoulder because you tried to catch yourself instead of just kind of rolling with it.”

Lutterman says if you can train yourself beforehand by falling on something soft, that can help if you find yourself slipping on the ice. To learn more about winter safety, click the link below to listen to the Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program with Lutterman.

https://raccoonvalleyradio.com/2018/12/lets-talk-dallas-county-12192018-clint-lutterman/