Have you been workin’ out?
All Hallows’ Eve is upon us. While you may be on the look out for witches, ghosts, goblins, and inappropriately dressed nurses there are some very real threats that you need to watch out for – injuries.
That’s right, Halloween presents a pumpkin patch full of potential accidents that can leave members of your household with all sorts of strains, sprains, bumps, and bruises. One of the best forms of prevention is to remain mindful of these threats throughout the evening. Here they are.
Common Halloween Injuries and How Physiotherapy Can Help
1. Acute Injuries from Slip and Falls
The sidewalks are caked with wet and frosty leaves on Halloween night. When you add uncomfortable costumes that drag below the hemline you create the perfect storm for slip and fall accidents. These can lead to sprains, strains, and fractures to the ankles, wrists, elbows, lower back, and more.
While physiotherapy can provide treatment for these acute injuries, prevention is the best medicine. Wear grippy footwear, use a flashlight, and watch where you step. If you have had issues with your walking balance in the past, consider seeing a physiotherapist beforehand as you may require custom foot orthotics to correct your gait.
2. Injuries from Motor Vehicle Accidents Involving Pedestrians
Whether you’re behind the wheel or playing pedestrian this Halloween you need to exercise extreme caution at intersections, crosswalks, and along residential roads. The number of motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) involving pedestrians skyrockets from dusk ’til dawn on Halloween. That means MVA-related injuries (whiplash, etc.) increase accordingly.
If driving, do so without distraction, which means no driving while eating, sipping, texting, adjusting auto-infotainment controls, or even engaging in conversation with your passengers. If walking, only cross the road at designated crosswalks, look both ways before doing so, and practice common sense pedestrian best practices.
If you do find yourself involved in an MVA, be sure to follow up with a registered ICBC chiropractic provider, even if you don’t exhibit symptoms of an injury in the first few days.
3. Injuries Due to Imbalance
While similar to the first item (slip and falls) above there may be an underlying issue that needs to be addressed here.
If you or someone in your household experiences mild yet chronic dizziness, light headedness, imbalance while walking, or outright vertigo these concerns (and risk of injury) can be compounded on Halloween. Someone who lives with such symptoms, no matter how mild, is at great risk of tripping and falling the minute they adorn a costume and/or mask that impacts their vision or ability to walk in a surefooted manner. For this reason it’s extremely important to choose costumes that do not impact vision and balance. Beyond that, it’s time to nip these supposedly mild symptoms in the bud and receive an assessment from a physiotherapist. You (or your family member) may be suffering from a vestibular condition such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) or other disturbance to the vestibular system. Vestibular rehabilitation at a professional physiotherapy clinic can begin correcting these symptoms before this Halloween, but should be continued well after so that the concern becomes nothing more than a ghost of the season’s past.
There’s no tricks, just treatments, available at Absolute PhysioCare. If you’re in the Greater Vancouver area be sure to schedule a consultation at our Burnaby clinic at your earliest convenience.
Have a Happy and Injury-Free Halloween!
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