2026-02-19 09:45
publication
2026-02-19 09:45
Winter 2026 spares no one – neither passers-by, nor doctors, nor sellers of orthopedic equipment. As Rafał Zieliński, the owner of ActiveOrto, a medical and orthopedic equipment store, admits in an interview with “Fakt”, the phone in his store has been ringing non-stop since January. – Sometimes I don't even know my name anymore – he says. This winter is going down in the orthopedic industry as one of the most intense in years.
Mr. Rafał admits that the number of reports recently is unbelievable – Customers find my number on the Internet and ask for help. And they call, they call all the time, he reports. – Now I have about 300 percent more traffic than normal. It's not a 10 or 20 percent difference. This is a jump of several hundred percent – adds Mr. Rafał.
This year's winter brought a real rash of injuries, and the largest group of injured people are seniors. As the store owner says in an interview with “Fakt”, accidents are increasingly occurring outside the home – on icy sidewalks, lanes or at bus stops. All it takes is a moment of inattention while taking out the trash or taking a morning walk to end with a fall and the intervention of an ambulance.
In the past, injuries occurred more often in apartments, but today they dominate outside injuries. In addition, there are injuries related to the winter season – skiers and skaters regularly seek help because the season is in full swing – says Mr. Rafał.
Everyday life in winter in various versions
As Mr. Rafał says, accident stories happen almost every day. A woman came to the store as she was rushing to catch the bus and ran across the crossing. She slipped on the ice and fell so accidentally that she broke her wrist and hand, and also dislocated her shoulder. One moment of inattention was enough to fall out of normal life for many months – all because of the icy road surface.
However, there are more such stories. Some of them sound downright unbelievable. One customer visited the store three times in just a few weeks. She first got there after breaking her leg. When she was leaving for rehabilitation, she slipped and broke her arm. Less than two weeks later, while going for a medical check-up, she fell again – this time she ended up with a dislocated shoulder.
Nowadays, people are put in plaster casts almost constantly, and the dressing changes themselves can take 6-8 weeks. Only when the frosts subside will the situation begin to calm down. I think that in about two months the traffic will decrease significantly – predicts Mr. Rafał.
prepared by WM
