Don't end on a blooper reel

Maybe it was a winter morning when I stepped out of the carpool van, found myself in an icy spot, and slid on my butt to the doors of my high school as my classmates watched. Or the day I stood on the porch and waved goodbye to a friend and watched in fear as she slid all the way down my frozen stairs.

At one point I became afraid of slipping on the ice. In the winter, I shuffle along the sidewalks of Boston, inch by inch, to avoid crashing like a cartoon character on a banana peel.

The reality, experts say, is that I should be concerned, at least a little. “Our brains are trained to be threat-identifying machines,” says Allison Logemann, a neuropsychologist at the University of Minnesota Medical School – and slippery surfaces can be dangerous.

But there are ways to worry less when you go for a walk, and to reduce the risk of losing your balance.

Brace yourself physically.

“Footwear is the first layer of defense,” says Sophia Yue Li, a biomedical engineer who has studied how hundreds of species winter boots on ice in her work at the University Health Network's KITE Research Institute in Toronto.

To start, you need well-fitting shoes or boots with good traction. Dr. Li told her research suggests that some of the best boots for walking on ice are made from newer materials, such as Arctic Grip or IceBite Grip, which use both rubber and hard particles like fiberglass to grip icy surfaces, even on an incline. In general, Dr. Li that on thin ice, the pattern of your shoes' treads is less important than their material and properties. how worn out they are. If you're not sure which shoes to wear, you can test different pairs in a safe place, such as an icy spot next to a fence that you can hold on to for support.

For stability, you can also use trekking poles with carbide or steel tips. Or wear ice pads over your shoes for better traction, says Alissa Ahrenholtz, a physical therapist at M Health Fairview in Minnesota — although Dr. Li said to only use them on longer stretches of ice. If you walk on a sidewalk with both icy and clear spots, the cleats can catch on the concrete and cause you to trip.

If you use an assistive device such as a walker or cane, or wear glasses, do not walk without it. You can also work on improving your balance and strengthening your core and legs, which will help your body respond quickly if you slip.

Some who are at high risk of falling and injuring themselves – including the elderly, people with weak bones due to conditions such as osteoporosis and people with movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease – may also benefit from reactive balance trainingwhich helps people stay upright when something shakes their balance.

“When it is snowing or there is ice on the ground, many patients who are weak or have balance problems often stay home,” said Dr. Jason Strelzow, director of orthopedic trauma at the University of Chicago Medicine. For these people, it may be safest to walk indoors or go out alone with a companion who can help you if you fall.

Then brace yourself mentally.

If you have the right equipment and work on your strength, you can build more confidence. That includes short outings and gradually increasing the distance you walk, said Dr. Logemann. For those who can safely go outside, she added, it's important not to avoid the activity altogether.

If you're nervous, consider taking a “minute” before you leave. “Note the heaviness of the jacket, the warmth of the boots. Just take your time with the process,” she said. This can leave your sympathetic nervous system less activated, she added, allowing you to react calmer if you slip.

Take it easy.

A common piece of advice is to walk like a penguin: Extend your arms and take short, shuffling steps. Longer steps can shift your center of gravity in a way that makes it more difficult to maintain your balance.

And “make sure the area you walk in is as bright as possible,” said Dr. Strelzow, even if that means zigzagging between the salted parts of the sidewalk. You should also avoid looking at your phone and not letting pets walk too close to your feet, as they are easy to trip over and slip, he added.

Falls happen quickly — “by the time you realize it, you're already on the ground,” said Dr. Li. If you slip, try keeping your arms close to your body and tucking your chin to protect your wrists and head. Take a moment to check for injuries before getting up, and move slowly to avoid hurting yourself or slipping again, Ms. Ahrenholtz said.

Ultimately, some of the fall risk comes down to “just bad luck,” said Dr. Strelzow. But, he added, “a lot of it is things we can control.”