Take care in the icy conditions

1. Avoid leather soled or high heeled shoes outdoors.
2. Choose shoes that are rubber soled with chunky tread that will cut into and grip slippery surfaces better.
3. A walking stick or Nordic walking pole gives extra stability.
4. Watch where you are going! Sounds obvious, keep a look out for icy patches.
5. Colder muscles are tighter, less elastic muscles so keep the muscles warm.
6. Neck pain? Wear a warm scarf around the neck to stop the muscles going into spasm from the cold.
7. Arthritic fingers? Wear warm gloves- this makes a big difference by maintaining temperature and hence pliability of the connective tissues when the temperature drops.
8. For back pain- wear an extra layer of clothing close to the body to keep the chill of the back muscles.
9. Arthritic knee? A neoprene sleeve is very effective at maintaining warmth to the knee- this is the same material wet-suits are made of.
10. If you do slip and take a tumble if you have any doubts- check it out.  Each year we have patients who leave injuries from falls on the ice for far too long without having them assessed.  In 2010 I saw a 22year old who slipped and injured his shoulder.  He waited for 6 weeks before attending to it thinking it would get better- I sent him immediately for a scan which showed he had fractured his shoulder!

If you have fallen or injured yourself BOOST PHYSIO in Hendon will examine and assess you thoroughly and help you recover more quickly.

We've been busy dealing with winter related injuries People who've slipped on the ice and those with winter sports injuries

The icy weather over Christmas and early January led to A+E departments being rushed off their feet with injuries from people and cars slipping on the ice.  Many patients and friends have been asking us what type of injuries have we been treating at BOOST PHYSIO relating to the bad weather… well unfortunately shoulders have born the brunt of these injuries….  here is part of the list:

• 26 year old man who fell on his shoulder, referred by his GP to see me 4 weeks after slipping and falling on his shoulder (xray was normal).  When I saw him it was immediately apparent that he had a more significant injury than usual, sent him back to GP requesting MRI which has shown an impact fracture to the shoulder and a muscle injury too.
• A man who fell and dislocated his shoulder (ouch!!)- he is doing well thanks to great treatment by Jolene
• 2 other men who have fallen onto their shoulders
• a Snowboarder who has injured his shoulder
• We have now started having enquiries from patients who broke their ankles or wrists and are coming out of plaster (after 6weeks) so watch this space!

Some of our these experiences have shown how a good musculo-skeletal physio with specialist experience and knowledge will pick up injuries that others will often miss!