IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO PREVENT ICE INJURIES
I should repost this every time it freezes in Texas. I’m a little late this year, but we’re still not out of danger in Central Texas.
We never have big fat snowflakes, like they do in Boston. We get a cold front, which pushes in rain, and then like clockwork, it freezes. If it happens to freeze while raining, we get something akin to a snow cone layer of ice over our world, beneath which lies “black ice,” a particularly dangerous and dense form of ice which looks like water. Depending on the temperature, that ice can hang around for days and even a week before melting away in the 80-degree weather which ensues.
Orthopedic surgeons have an ambivalent relationship with this weather. Think about it…we hate it, because we know no matter how much warning people get about the dangers of ice…many won’t listen, they’ll get hurt and we’re going to have to go out and work…in the ice! But on the flip side, it goes back to my old adage. Anything which makes your orthopedic surgeon money is probably something you shouldn’t do. And we do make money after a freeze, because you simply won’t stay off the ice!
To that end…STAY OFF THE ICE!
As soon as ice develops, this is what we see:
- Lots of car accidents, and when there are car accidents, orthopedic surgeons are going to work
- Lots of broken wrists on people who “had to check their mail”
- Lots of broken hips on people who had to walk their dogs and feed feral cats
- Lots of broken shoulders on those who didn’t recognize the black ice, and thought it was just a wet spot
- A few orthopedic surgeons with broken wrists, shoulders and hips…because they slipped on their driveways on the way to the ER to see the patients who slipped on theirs.
So, please prepare when there is a prediction of ice, and stay vigilant.
- Go get your groceries, toilet paper, water bottles and beer. Stay at home until the sun comes out and dries up all the ice.
- Get some ice and snow melter salt for the drive and sidewalk. This is for those who will go outside no matter what.
- For pet owners, weigh down a small tarp over an area of grass close to your house.
- When you pull it up, there will be a little patch of grass on which your dog can do its business. The feral cats will survive. It’s what they do best!
- Watch for black ice. Before you take any step onto a sidewalk, staircase, street or deck, please rub one foot or your hand on the surface to make sure it’s not ice. Don’t put your weight on it. If it’s ice, don’t do like our patients who will be on waiting lists for surgery on their wrists and hips the next week. They made the decision to walk very carefully on it.
- Just stay home. And stay until there’s a clear path without ice.
I know some of you are not going to listen this year. Even though retired, I know after the first icy freeze I will see some of you with slings on your arms a few days later. Others will tell me their mom is having surgery on her broken hip. I know my former partners will be busy.
Barbara
I'm a retired orthopedic surgeon from Austin, Texas. I practiced general orthopedic surgeon in Austin for 36 yrstd and have a pretty good idea of the things we're doing to cause pain and injury. As a competitive horseback rider, and a female athlete, I also have personal experience with injuries and the musculoskeletal problems associated with aging. I talk frankly about various conditions, and how you can prevent a lot of injuries, deal with pain and slow down the degenerative processes which will happen as we age.
