Christmas Injuries – Chiropractic Clinic Newsletter December 2017

The holidays are all fun and games until someone gets hurt. With all the hype and demands surrounding Christmas time, it’s no surprise that thousands of people are injured every year from falling off a ladder while stringing lights or cutting their finger while carving a turkey. With a little more patience and a lot more caution, everyone could drastically reduce their chances of holiday-related injuries. Here are holiday-related injuries that are surprisingly common:

Back Injuries caused by Lifting Poorly lifting the tree, frequently climbing ladders and lifting various heavy objects, as is common with Christmas decorating and un-decorating, can lead to back injuries. The resulting pain can be acute and short lived, but at times can become chronic. Have a lifting partner to ensure that the significant weight of the tree and other heavy objects is properly and evenly distributed between multiple people. Lift using your legs to ensure that the strain is taken off of your back in order to prevent possible back injuries.

Falls: Falls are very common around the holidays, when people go to great heights to decorate their Christmas trees and put up lights. When decorating, use step stools instead of furniture and take precaution when stepping onto a ladder. Ladder injuries can be prevented by making sure the ladder is on solid ground and having a helper hold the ladder still while you are on it.

Sports Accidents: A good clean game of football or cricket with the family can present problems when someone pulls their hamstring or is concussed after a hard-hitting tackle. Sports injuries are very common around the holidays when families get together and challenge each other to a competitive game. Even playtime for kids can result in injuries. If you’re going to play sports this holiday season, make sure you play nice and don’t overexert yourself to avoid unintentional injuries.

Stay Cool It can be a gamble buying your kids a skateboard, rollerblades or surfboard, purely because dad sees it as an opportunity to show the kids how it’s done. Around this time people, especially males, do things they used to do 20 years ago. Simple advice is, just take it a little bit slower and take a deep breath and learn to say no. There are misadventures when people are having fun and something silly happens. It can go very quickly from something silly to something fractured, then it’s not funny anymore.

Car Accidents: Christmas is one of the busiest travel times of the year. As more people hit the roads to go out of town, the greater the risk for car accidents and car-related injuries. Not to mention, there are more impaired drivers out on the road during the holidays than the rest of the year. Whiplash, lacerations, bruises and broken bones are just some of the car-related injuries that can happen to drivers who’ve been in a car crash. In order to prevent car accidents, you can make sure you and your family and friends always have a designated driver after drinking, and avoid the roads late at night and during high traffic times. Also, make sure everyone in your vehicle is buckled up at all times and young children are traveling in the correct car seats.

Choking: With the amount of food being ingested and the small trinkets that kids get their hands on, is it any wonder why choking is one of the biggest injuries during the holidays. Choking is a serious concern for families with small children and caution should be taken to make sure all of your holiday decorations are baby-proofed. As tempting as it is to gobble down those holiday meals, make sure you take your time to chew and swallow properly so you don’t choke on your food.

Christmas is meant to be a joyous and wonderful time, so lets keep it that way.  By taking extra preventive measures to ensure that you enjoy the holidays safely, you can prevent injuries.  So before plugging in those lights, hoisting the tree or removing decorations, be sure to follow the steps and tips provided.