Falling on ice

[Guest guest]

, I'm sorry this reponse to your post is so delayed.

I have osteoporosis (for which I also take Fosamax), am fused from T-3 to S-1, and am pretty terrified of falling on the ice. Because of my long fusion, I can not break my fall in any normal way. I have gone down

three or four times in the winter, hitting the ground with my face and getting pretty badly bruised in general or giving myself a black eye.

Have you tried any of the cleats made for those of us who are everyday walkers or dog-walkers but are not necessarily mountain climbers? My whole life changed when I found a pair for $10 in Filene's Basement last

winter. I wore them the whole winter, never had a fall, and ultimately wore them out. They fit very securely around my gym shoes and I never removed them from the shoes, so they also kind of totaled the shoes by leaving deep marks in the leather.

This year I ordered a different kind I found at Amazon -- somewhat more expensive, and they do not wrap around the top of the shoe. The brand name is Yaktrax. They have a whole bunch of different models. One person

who swears by them is my doctor, who had a bad fall herself and never goes out without them now in the winter. Personally I have had a little trouble keeping them on my shoes, but I have learned to check and double-check the sides to make sure I have a secure fit. If my son is around, he is always glad to help me put them on, since I have so little

spinal flexibility and consequently find it very hard to do anything involving my feet.  Except under rare conditions (e.g., some kind of transitional ice patches I slipped on a little several days ago), these cleats have been a godsend. You will probably want to exercise ordinary caution wearing them, but for the most part you can walk around normally

with little fear of a fall.