St. Cloud’s Thaw-Freeze Cycle Raises Risk for Slips and Falls

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- It's been a roller-coaster winter with snow early and warmer-than-normal temperatures more recently.

The evolving conditions have physicians reminding us to be aware of falls due to the thaw/freeze cycle.

CentraCare's Dr. George Morris says the first thing we need to do is be aware of the changing weather conditions. He says the snow and ice can melt and refreeze quickly. He says if you add a layer of snow to the ice, it can hide the dangers of falling.

Dr. Morris says some tips include leaning slightly forward, shuffling your feet like a penguin, and keeping your hands free...

Be sure to keep your hands out of your pockets. That may mean wearing gloves or wearing mittens. But having your hands inside your pockets really slows down your balance, and you can't really recover. We've all seen gymnasts during the summer Olympics or other things, where they have their hands out and that really helps them recover.

Dr. Morris says athletes oftentimes use their hands as a guide to get into the proper way to fall...the key is to fall forward and tuck-and-roll onto your shoulder...

You know, so they're not using their hands to stop their fall. They're using their hands to say ok now guide me onto my shoulder and onto my side. So definitely do the tuck-and-roll and not the stop-and-drop. So, that could be a new way to think about it, uh, tuck and roll, don't stop and drop.  We can handle wrist fractures, but you're much better off rolling into the snow.

Dr. Morris says brain injuries and fractured skulls are common when people fall backward, so it's important to wear proper footwear, bend your knees, lean forward, and maintain your balance as best you can.