To rake, or not to rake?
For thousands of Toledoans facing a deluge of autumn leaves, that is the question.
While summer is the most popular time of the year for impromptu visits to the emergency room, the fall months present their own set of challenges stemming from raking leaves, cleaning the gutters, pumpkin carving, and other seemingly innocuous tasks.
“We see injuries daily, and it’s not just slip and falls, but it’s cuts, it’s bumps, it’s bruises, it’s broken bones,” said Dr. Jay Taylor, a Mercy Health emergency room physician based in Perrysburg and Sylvania.
The most consistent complaint bringing people to the ER after autumn yard work is muscle pain. The repetitive twisting, bending, and pulling of raking, especially, strain back, shoulder, and neck muscles.
Disturbing leaves, whether in gutters or piles, sometimes means upsetting another set of critters going about their business. With bees upping their pollen game ahead of winter, bee stings are another common injury, a threat for the roughly 3 percent of the U.S. population with serious bee allergies.