Common Winter Injuries and How to Recover Quickly

Winter is coming up fast! Unfortunately, with the colder temperatures and beautiful snow comes common winter injuries. From slips and falls to temperature-related dangers, it’s important to know what to look out for and how to recover quickly if you experience any of them.

Today, we’re exploring common winter injuries and how to speed up your recovery to get back on your feet and enjoy the season! Don’t let the season get the best of you. Read on, and be prepared.

Most Common Winter Injuries

We love winter. The snow falling, holiday gatherings, winter sports, and more all make for a magical time of year. With the good, however, sometimes comes the bad. While no one wants to find themselves hurt this season, there are plenty of common winter injuries to be aware of. Knowing what to watch for is the first step to preventing winter injuries from happening!

Some of the most common winter injuries experiences each year include:

• Slips and falls
• Muscle strain
• Winter sports injuries
• Back and neck pain
• Heart attacks
• Hypothermia

Slips and Falls

The most common winter injuries each year are slips and falls. When the temperatures drop, ice can form, making even the most commonplace of surfaces dangerous. Each year, over 1 million Americans are injured as a result of falling on ice and snow. While it may be easy to recover for some, older adults who slip and fall on the ice are much more likely to sustain serious injuries such as a broken hip. Youth isn’t a barrier against these winter injuries, however. Broken bones, sprained joints, and more can easily happen to people of any age from falling on ice.

If you do experience a slip or fall on the ice, you need to assess the damage and find ways to take care of your body right away. Zero gravity chairs are excellent options for many, as they alleviate pressure from the lower back and pelvic region (where you likely fell) and promote a wealth of health benefits to speed up how the body heals itself. Other features like heat therapy and massage may also prove beneficial while recovering from winter injuries, keeping muscles loose as you heal.

Muscle Strain

Slips and falls on ice are winter injuries you might have expected on our list, but what about muscle strain? During the winter, many places experience snowfall. This snow needs to be cleared to create safer walkways or paths to get the car out of the driveway, which means lots of shoveling. Shoveling snow puts extra wear and tear on the body, which could easily result in this second entry on our list of common winter injuries.

Learning how to treat muscle strain at home is essential to alleviate pain and get you back to full health as quickly as possible. While heating pad applications or cold compresses are common for muscle strain, zero gravity chairs shine here, once again. These modern recliners work to improve blood flow throughout the body, rehydrating muscle tissue and helping it heal more quickly. 

Winter Sports Injuries

Winter sports injuries come in at number three on our list of common winter injuries you might experience this season. Winter is a great time for outdoor activities like skiing, snowboarding, and more. With those activities, however, comes the potential for accidents to happen. In fact, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission reported almost 200,000 winter sports injuries in 2018 alone. Learning how to recover from winter sports injuries is crucial to get athletes back on their feet as fast as they can.

Athletes need to let their bodies rest if they’re injured. The R.I.C.E. method is the most common sports injury recovery method, but more athletes have been turning to zero gravity chairs for recovery in recent years to help accelerate the healing process. They may also help improve lung function, a very important aspect in winter sports injury prevention and athletic performance.

Pro Tip: To help prevent winter sports injuries, make sure you’re always wearing the right equipment, doing proper warmups, and having an effective post-workout recovery routine.

Back and Neck Pain

Whether it’s from slips and falls, shoveling snow, or the stress of the holidays, back and neck pain are also common injuries experienced year after year. Poor posture in cold weather is another catalyst for back and neck pain that requires attention and treatment!

No matter the cause, finding ways to reduce pressure on the back and work out neck pain is important to getting back on your feet. Active stretches may help alleviate some back pain. Using zero gravity chairs for back pain is another way these recliners can fit into your winter self-care and recovery routine! The design of the zero gravity position helps facilitate faster back pain relief and recovery. In fact, just 20 minutes a day in the zero gravity position may provide the same level of back repair as 8 to 10 hours of sleep!

Heart Attacks

The stress of the holidays, how our bodies react to cold weather, and added physical tasks like shoveling snow in winter may also lead to an increased number of heart attacks each season. If you think you may be experiencing symptoms of a heart attack, immediately seek medical help. Another way to help avoid these winter injuries is to increase blood circulation, thereby regulating blood pressure within the body.

Activities like getting a massage, heat therapy application, or reclining in a zero gravity chair may all contribute to lowering your risk of a heart attack in winter. The bonus features of zero gravity luxury recliners may include heat and massage features, giving you the best of all three in one.

Hypothermia

As you may have expected, hypothermia makes every list of common winter injuries to watch out for each year. Extended exposure to the cold can overwhelm our body’s ability to auto-regulate internal temperature. Officially, hypothermia occurs when a person’s body temperature drops below 95°F. If you may find yourself outside for an extended period of time, be sure to dress warmly with layers. It’s also wise to prepare for unexpected incidents such as car problems by packing blankets in the trunk during the winter season.

While we hope you don’t have any need this season, this guide to common winter injuries and recovery will serve you well. Be sure to consult a medical professional if you experience winter injuries to avoid the potential for them to worsen. Take extra precautions in whatever you find yourself doing this season and enjoy it to the fullest!

As you’ve seen, zero gravity chairs are immensely beneficial. Check out the Svago Newton Zero Gravity Recliner and discover more about the benefits of zero gravity chairs for all ages.