Wellness

[feline groovy]

from MailOnlineUK 1/5/17:

Want to stay safe on icy pavements?

Easy… Germans are told to just walk like a penguin! 

• Trauma surgeons have advised people to walk like penguins to avoid falls
• The flightless birds lean their torsos forward and put weight on their front leg
• Advice was issued by the German Society of Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery 
• Humans often split their weight across two legs, which is more risky 

The German public could soon be doing their own imitation of popular documentary March of the Penguins, if they follow doctor's orders.

Trauma surgeons have advised people to walk like penguins to avoid injuring themselves when it gets icy.

As the flightless birds are often found in frozen parts of the world, medics believe their gait is exactly what people should be imitating. 

Speaking to German newspaper Berliner Morgenpost, Professor Reinhard Hoffmann, general secretary of the German Society of Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery, said: 'The gait of a penguin is a simple way of walking safely on a frosty ground and steering clear of a fall.' 

In order to achieve this, people should lean their torso forward so that their centre of gravity is on their front leg.

Humans often go wrong by splitting their weight across two legs - which surgeons say increases the risk of losing balance.

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'course we won't look as adorable doing so   ;-)

[AKgirl2]

Ha!  I find myself walking like a penguin more and more since I've gotten older, and guess what, I haven't fallen!!  Better knock on wood now😁  BTW, I love penguins, they have a special place in my heart as well as my son's, especially at Christmas time❤️

[Mz iMac]

[hckynut]

@feline groovy

This is pretty much the body position used by most good ice skaters, be they the figure variety or hockey variety. Forward lean does not guarantee, on skates, you will not fall, but!!

Would you rather fall with your feet going forward of your body's "center of gravity", or behind the same? I have fallen every which way possible during my hockey and ref skating days. Believe me, falling with your feet behind you, means you see what is happening  and can take steps to lessen the chances of injury.

Fall with your legs in front of you. You see the sky/ceiling lights at ice rinks, and so on. You have very limited ways to protect your body, especially your head(concussions or worse). 

Leaning forward when walking on ice and taking very small steps, are also beneficial for balance/keeping more weight in front of your center of gravity, and less chance of falling?

I don't know about penguins, but I do know how to better keep my legs and feet underneath me when walking on very slick surfaces.

Nice of you to post this info and the graphics for everyone.

ETA--Made a change to the sentence that now says: "fall with your legs in front of you". It previously said: "fall with your legs behind you". That was my mistake as I had already said: "fall with your legs behind you", describing what would be the opposite effect.

Sorry if I confused everyone.

hckynut(john)

[SeaMaiden]

Really you should all purchase the ice grabber things that QVC sells. I put them on my shoes on icy mornings and never slip! I would not be without these. 

  Item#   F09440

Due North Snow and Ice Cleats

[QueenDanceALot]

Those penguins are so cute!!!

I don't know about the penguin walk, but 20 some odd years ago there was a winter here that was ice from November to March.  I was skating along my front yard early one morning to get to my car to head to work, it was dark, I fell, backwards, I broke my wrist on impact when I instinctively put my arm back to protect my head.

The nurse at the doctor told me to never try to break my fall with my arm.  Guess it would have been better to crack my skull?

I have to go out and shovel some snow.  I'll practice the penguinn walk.  

[feline groovy]

@hckynut

That's really interesting - excellent points!

I bet it's also beneficial that athletes usually have a strong core, which is key to good balance.

Strong leg muscles don't hurt either.

I hope that you, Cindy, the dogbabies, & the felinekids are in decent health.

Thanks for the info; I always learn something new from your posts.  

[PamelaSue72]

I walk 3 miles outside on all but the very coldest and windiest days. For walking on snow and ice, I swear by Yak Trax. They easily slip over my snow sneakers and I have yet to slip on the ice, let alone fall.

[hckynut]

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@SeaMaiden wrote:

Really you should all purchase the ice grabber things that QVC sells. I put them on my shoes on icy mornings and never slip! I would not be without these. 

  Item#   F09440

Due North Snow and Ice Cleats

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@SeaMaiden

Great advice. I too have those, different brand, but very effective. My wife has 2 pair, 1 she always carries in the vehicle she drives. I have mentioned to her to buy another pair, 1 for each vehicle.

What I mentioned in my previous post is still important for when you are not prepared with the "grippers". Forward lean and very small steps, and also when necessary, never walk on ice when to your left or right is a downhill grade.

Never walk at any angle that allows your feet to slip sideways, as that too can cause serious injuries. Our trip to our mailbox puts me in that exact position, and what I do is this. I walk sideways so the decline is behind me, while walking with even more of a forward lean.

Doing as I said in the above paragraph still puts your body in a position where your legs cannot slip in front of your "center of gravity"(you would fall backwards with your head possibly the first thing to make contact with the surface). Legs when falling should always be behind your "center of gravity", that way you can see the surface and use your arms and hands to prevent hitting your nose/face and head.

Either way you fall you might be injured. With legs behind you a finger/hand/arm or nose can be broken, but you do have the chance to protect the most serious injury, which would be landing on the back of your head, and concussion or worse.

hckynut(john)

[chlema]

Since it is snowing today I will try to perfect my waddling