Why is slipping on ice so dangerous?

Question

I tried searching for an answer on Google, but the results were full of advertisements for injury lawyers.

I guess I don’t quite comprehend how it can be so dangerous. I know lots of people end up having to go to the hospital after slipping and falling on ice, and some even die. But like—how much force can there be if you were just walking?

I’ve fallen while riding a bike / rollerblading, going much faster than walking speed. I got some scrapes and bruises but didn’t need medical help. Why is ice so dangerous?

In: 0

Answer 1

The first thing to consider is that not all falls will be dangerous, but every one has the potential to be very bad. Trip up and fall over or fall off a bike and the majority of the time it is only your pride that will be injured – your instincts will typically take over and protect you by doing things like putting out your arms to catch yourself and absorb the impact safely, twisting to land in a safer way, and protecting the more delicate elements like stiffening up so that your head doesn’t hit the ground.

But as evidence by emergency departments the world over, these instincts don’t always work perfectly – fall over and the weight of a falling person at the wrong angle can easily be enough to break a bone, twist an ankle, damage a muscle or crack your head off something.

Ice makes this more dangerous in two main ways. The first is that because ice is slippery, more people fall over. More people falling over means there is going to be a greater amount of injuries – even if the percentage of falls that result in injury remain the same.
Secondly though, ice does also make it more likely that you will hurt yourself. The fact that you are on a slippery surface means those instincts to protect yourself won’t always work so well – stick out your arms to catch yourself for example, and you now have to contend with the fact that your hands may also slip. On dry ground you would have caught yourself safely, however on ice where your hands slip you may still end up faceplanting and hurting yourself just the same.