Overall, this year’s winter season really doesn’t rank as being particularly bad compared to historical standards, but New England and eastern Massachusetts in particular have had a pretty rough go of it. People in that area are more than ready for winter to end and spring to begin.
One of the results of the snowy, icy weather has been the expected increase in slips, trips and falls and their related injuries.
At sea, in harbors, on the rivers or ashore, it’s all the same. Hospital emergency rooms and doctor’s offices have been bursting at the seams with broken hands, wrists, ankles and feet. If you’re lucky, you’ve only suffered strains, sprains and bruises — concussions, orthopedic surgery or worse if you’re not. With this often comes unexpected time off from work and lost income while the body heals.
So with this experience fresh in everyone’s minds and bodies, maybe some people will be more receptive to a couple of simple, affordable and effective remedies. Since most of these injuries are caused by a loss of traction, whatever is out there that allows you to maintain traction can and usually will prevent a fall from occurring. Of course, snow should be shoveled, ice should be chopped, scraped, bashed or otherwise removed, and surfaces should be sanded and/or salted. However, “should be” is not the same as “will be.”
So if you want to safeguard yourself from the various human failures and shortcomings that can hamper snow and ice removal, you can take matters into your own hands.
You can do this by adding serious traction that will follow you wherever you go — attached to your own two feet. Yaktrax (www.yaktrax.com), which is best for general use, and Microspikes (www.kahtoola.com), for when the going gets extremely icy, are the way to go. That’s all.
