Woops! - watch your step in this icy weather

As so perfectly demonstrated by this poor little penguin and his unhelpful, mocking friends, venturing out in this cold, icy weather can be treacherous! Even a simple slip on an icy pavement can result in at least a jarred back, grazed knees or a banged bottom (not to mention a dented ego!) - or worse still a fractured wrist or even hip which may take months to heal (my husband is looking at 3 months in a cast after fracturing his scaphoid - a very small bone in the wrist! OK, we were snowboarding!!!). However, whilst it is tempting to stay snuggled up indoors, this is not always possible and even in the cold weather our bodies benefit from a little bit of fresh air and exercise.

With a few simple, sensible precautions you can avoid the fate of the penguin...

• Wear sensible, grippy shoes or boots.
• Keep your feet warm with thermal (or extra) socks - cold, numb feet are less able to sense the surface.
• Wrap up, but make sure you can still move freely!
• Wear gloves and keep your hands out of your pockets - you need them to balance.
• Stick to gritted paths - but remember that there might still be slippery bits and watch out for shady areas that may still be icy. Fluffy, powdery snow is generally less slippery than the compacted stuff.
• If you do take a tumble, try to relax and roll - keep your hands and arms tucked in as a FOOSH ('fall on outstretched hand') is the easiest way to injure your hands, wrists and arms.
  
• Too cold to venture out? - wrap up warm, and march on the spot for a minute or so before heading out - that way you'll warm your body up before you face the elements.
• Fed up with the cold? Find some snow and lob a few snowballs - it'll make you smile. Also, think of all the bugs and germs that are being killed off by the cold snap...
  

Now, how about another look at that penguin...