The extreme winter weather which has hit the Deep South has many looking to make the most of it with outdoor activities normally unavailable for Alabamians.

But one activity has a Huntsville area neurosurgeon issuing a warning.

Dr. Rhett Murray of the Spine & Neuro Center in Huntsville says in a video posted to the center’s social media pages he has been on duty for four days straight treating injuries related to people taking to the ice to go sledding.

Murray says among those he’s treated in the past few days, one suffered a fractured neck, but “thank goodness no paralysis,” and multiple head injuries.

“I know it’s fun,” Murray says. “It’s unusual to have snow in the South, but if you’re going to go sledding, you should go feet first, you should wear a helmet and, please, check out the track before you do it.”

He said many of the injuries he’s treated are simply people falling on ice, but “mostly” they are from sledding.

Murray’s wife, Melanie Hammer Murray, owner of the Bullet & Barrel indoor shooting range in Huntsville, wrote that one victim of a sledding accident ran into a parked car and “broke the skid with face. Nose bone found on the ground.”

Several injuries apparently resulted from people out on ATVs in the treacherous conditions, including one incident in which someone was in a kayak being pulled by an ATV when the kayak ran into a tree.

“In Alabama, you aren’t sledding in fluffy snow down a gentle slope like a Hallmark movie,” Melanie Murray wrote. “Your face, neck, head and back are no match for hard snow.”

The Spine & Neuro Center says wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of serious brain in half.