Скачать или смотреть What to Do After a Slip & Fall (Before It Becomes a Bigger Problem)

Winter can turn sidewalks and driveways into accident zones—and slip & fall injuries become surprisingly common this time of year. What many people don’t realize is that what you do in the first minutes and hours after a fall can make a major difference in how quickly (and how well) your body recovers.

First, take a moment to check for any red flags that may require immediate medical attention. These include severe dizziness or confusion, head injury, loss of consciousness, numbness or tingling anywhere in the body, inability to bear weight, or obvious swelling/deformity. If any of those show up, don’t wait—get evaluated right away.

If there are no urgent warning signs, the next goal is to move carefully and avoid powering through pain. After a fall, your body naturally reacts with inflammation—so the first day or two is about calming that response and preventing the injury from “settling in.”