# Be careful on the ice. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 7, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-on-the-ice/480259 "2009-01-07T18:41:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-on-the-ice/480259/21 "2009-01-08T15:12:53Z")
Glad you’re feeling better, and yes, ice can be pretty treacherous, I’m kind of on a hate-hate thing with ice right now… back on Dec. 11, we got hit with a massive ice storm that basically crippled the New England region, we lost power for six days, and only saw a work crew on day 5… and last night, we were getting another bout of freezing rain, topping the snow that fell earlier that morning, driving home last night was…interesting Yknow what the scariest sound is while driving in the winter on frozen roads? …silence, absolute silence from the tires… I have snow tires on my Ion, and they’re the old, blocky style, on dry pavement, they have a characteristic howl, on wet pavement, a faint hissing sound, slush has a squelchy sound, driving on snow, a crunchy sound, on rough surface ice, a rumbly sound, but on glare ice? dead silent… for about two miles, heading from work to the Portsmouth Traffic Circle the tires were dead silent, it felt and sounded like I was gliding… there’s something somewhat scary about traveling at 30 MPH and having _NO_ road noise whatsoever… ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-on-the-ice/480259/22 "2009-01-08T15:13:26Z")
When I read the head cracking on the ground part, I immediately felt that hollow, splitting pain all over again. Last year I went backwards off of a two-step concrete porch flat on my back. I ducked my head, so didn’t get that, but I broke a finger breaking my fall. People don’t slip and fall a lot on sand, I’m retiring somewhere there’s cacti and lizards. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-on-the-ice/480259/23 "2009-01-08T16:16:24Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > there’s something somewhat scary about traveling at 30 MPH and having _NO_ road noise whatsoever… Add in a snow squall so that high beams only confuse you, so low beams only, so you aren’t sure you will see the deer coming, and it was my commute last night. Yikes. ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-on-the-ice/480259/24 "2009-01-08T20:27:00Z")
Saw on the news that a high school student in metro Indianapolis fell, hit his head and died… how awful. ☹ Be careful out there, everyone! ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-on-the-ice/480259/25 "2009-01-08T20:48:12Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Thanks so much, everyone . . . especially **Jenaroph** and **Ferret Herder**. I just ordered a pair of “Pro” Yaktrax. 🙂 You’ll love them. But take 'em off when you step in the house - ironically, they’re extremely slippery on hard floors. Hope you’re feeling better - I know that “crack” sound and that hollow, shaky feeling afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-on-the-ice/480259/26 "2009-01-08T20:53:37Z")
I played hockey for years and years as a younger man so I’m pretty sure on my feet, especially on ice. Every year I have a slip or a slide that should end up with me on the ground but that I fight the momentum and twist my body so I don’t fall. Three days ago walking down the driveway to get the mail I went down without any warning, no slide or slip just went from on my feet to on my ass in an eyeblink. Surprised the hell out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-on-the-ice/480259/27 "2009-01-08T21:32:02Z")
> [@Cluricaun](#): > > I played hockey for years and years as a younger man so I’m pretty sure on my feet, especially on ice. Every year I have a slip or a slide that should end up with me on the ground but that I fight the momentum and twist my body so I don’t fall. Three days ago walking down the driveway to get the mail I went down without any warning, no slide or slip just went from on my feet to on my ass in an eyeblink. > > Surprised the hell out of me. That was my perception of my fall. None of that vaguely sickening “I’m going to fall” feeling, no time to flail at the air, nothing. One moment I was standing, the next I was sitting on the ground, legs straight out, with pain in my rear end, my right hand/wrist, and the back of my head. The rear was of course from the landing, the hand/wrist from my palm-down reflexive attempt to “break” the fall ending up breaking the wrist right at that end of the radius, and when I asked my husband at the ER why the back of my head hurt, he told me it bounced off the siding of the garage when I went down. He had been sitting in the car, having just backed the car out of the garage, while I closed the door for him. I think I was moving towards the car door when I slipped. I crumpled up in pain, and within about 30 seconds, enough adrenaline and endorphins had kicked in that I was trying to insist that I felt better, I just bumped myself. Yeah, that didn’t last very long. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-on-the-ice/480259/28 "2009-01-08T22:05:57Z")
> [@Cluricaun](#): > > I Every year I have a slip or a slide that should end up with me on the ground but that I fight the momentum and twist my body so I don’t fall. > > Surprised the hell out of me. Me too ☹ unfortunately I no long have the weight distribution, and flexibility of muscle my body remembers, and invariable rip the hell out of my lower back once or twice per winter, when a simple fall would just be some scratches an pain. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-on-the-ice/480259/29 "2009-01-09T00:28:44Z")
One of my classmates broke his leg recently when he went for a run and hit a patch of ice. And no, you don’t need to point out (to me, anyway) that going for a run when the streets are icy is a bad idea. That’s just Dave. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-on-the-ice/480259/30 "2009-01-09T00:41:52Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > Knowing _how_ to fall is an important skill, I think. I couldn’t agree more. The best advice I ever got was also the most counter-instinctual: if there’s nothing you can do about the fall, pull your arms in close to your body. No sense breaking your wrist. ---
**Author:** ![wunderkammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ed8c4c/32.png) [@wunderkammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wunderkammer)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-on-the-ice/480259/31 "2009-01-09T07:11:28Z")
After last Saturday’s ice storm I had a very stupid fall. Walked outside. No harm. Shuffled carefully down the glassy sheet of former sidewalk. Check. Crosswalk was apparently cleared already, so I started to walk almost normally. Big mistake. I hit some invisible ice and ended up sprawled in the crosswalk with my hat knocked off about five feet behind me. Luckily, I wasn’t hurt much in the fall, and I even managed to make myself scarce before my light turned red. Still, I have sympathy for you, _panache_. Last time I smacked my skull, it was because I failed at descending a staircase, and that was no fun. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-on-the-ice/480259/32 "2009-01-09T10:34:45Z")
Well, it’s almost 48 hours since my fall, and I’m amazed how many parts of my body are sore. The head still hurts, but is better (with Excedrin). But in addition to the original pains, my abs and sides are sore, plus my entire neck . . . especially those muscles that slant down from below the ears to the front. It’s interesting to see how the pain is migrating to areas that weren’t directly affected; kinda like following the path of an earthquake. But I’m glad the fall happened so fast that I didn’t have time to do stuff that could have caused real damage. Can’t wait to get my Yaktrax! ---
**Author:** ![criminey.jicket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@criminey.jicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criminey.jicket)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-on-the-ice/480259/33 "2009-01-09T12:24:06Z")
**panache** , IANAD, but you should probably be taking an ibuprofen type pain reliever, in the 2 every 4 hours territory. It works better for muscle inflammation. Have you been soaking in the tub or taking hot showers? Heating pad? Ice/heat? I got off lucky. I was making my way around the back of the truck, holding on with one hand and a go-mug of coffee in the other, when my left foot shot out behind me. I ended up doing what probably looked like a very wobbly genuflection. I managed to hang on well enough to not land hard on my kneecap, thankfully. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-on-the-ice/480259.md?page=1)