When the chill of winter settles in, even a short walk from your front door to your driveway can\u00a0become a dangerous journey. When surfaces are snowy, icy and slippery, you\u2019re more likely to fall and\u00a0injure your head or break a bone.<\/p>\n
Falling can be serious for anyone of any age. The most severe of injuries include hip fractures and\u00a0head or neck trauma. As we age, recovering from a hip fracture or other traumatic injury can be a
\nlong and complicated journey.<\/p>\n
For safer walking, no matter what your age, consider these tips:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Gear up<\/strong>. Choose cold-weather boots with grooved soles made from rubber or other non-slip\u00a0materials. We hope you have a safe, happy and healthy winter season.<\/p>\n Sources: American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; U.S. Department of Labor<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When the chill of winter settles in, even a short walk from your front door to your driveway can\u00a0become a dangerous journey. When surfaces are snowy, icy and slippery, you\u2019re more likely to fall and\u00a0injure your head or break a bone. Falling can be serious for anyone of any age. The most severe of injuries […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17],"tags":[859,359],"class_list":["post-9563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medicare","tag-falls-prevention","tag-winter-safety"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/winter-safety-senior-man.jpg?fit=2121%2C1414&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6ZZGa-2uf","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9563"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9566,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9563\/revisions\/9566"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u2022 If you encounter ice, try to go around it<\/strong>. Look for a nearby snowy or grassy patch that you can\u00a0step on for better traction.
\n\u2022 Beware of black ice.<\/strong> It may just look like a wet or glazed spot on a sidewalk.
\n\u2022 Slow down<\/strong>. Take shorter steps, and walk with your knees slightly bent. Leave for your destination early so you won\u2019t be tempted to walk quickly to your car or the bus.
\n\u2022 Use deicer on walkways<\/strong>. And, remove snow before it piles up. Snow removal can be strenuous\u00a0work. If you have a medical condition, check with your doctor before you shovel, or better yet, have someone else shovel it for you.<\/p>\n