Back Pain After Falling on Ice  The likelihood of taking a fall
on a sidewalk or driveway increases proportionally with the
amount of freezing rain and ice. And oh that aching back that
may result.  So now what do you do? Joseph Chen, MD, medical
director of the Iowa Spine Research and Rehabilitation Center at
UI Hospitals and Clinics, has some suggestions about how to take
care of a back injury from falling.  Chen suggests wearing
appropriate boots. "Snow boots, even though they can track mud
into your house, provide a lot more traction for your feet than
do dress shoes or even tennis shoes.  "Take shorter steps and
try to plant your whole foot gently down instead of using the
typical heel strike that we use when we're walking or running,"
he says.  If you do fall on the ice and know immediately you
have hurt your back, Chen says you should slowly try to get up.
"It may be a bit more difficult to get up on your hands and
knees if there's a large patch of ice. Be extra careful, and
then walk slowly, using an