P.E.I. second in country for rate of hospitalizations caused by slips on ice, data shows

People on P.E.I. tend to wind up in hospitals after slipping on ice at a higher rate than elsewhere in the country, according to data national health researchorganization.

Statistics compiledby the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) for the period between April 2016 and March 2017 show there were 80 instances where people on P.E.I. stayed in a hospital after falling on ice or snow last winter.

That works out to 52.6 hospitalizations per 100,000 people, the second highest rate in the country.

• P.E.I. cleans up after blowing snow created hazardous morning conditions
• Falls can and should be prevented: P.E.I. expert

Northwest Territories had the highest number of hospitalizations from falls last year with the average of 53.9 annual hospitalizations per 100,00 people. Ontario was lowest at 14.9. The data only included slips from flat surfaces no stairs, for example and excluded Quebec and Nunavut.

This is nothing new for P.E.I., which has been in the top five slippers since 2011.

Steve Lawlor, a Charlottetown physiotherapist and owner of Balance Health Physio, said with P.E.I.'s large population of seniors, he's not surprised to hear we have a high number ending up in hospital from falls.

"Once the balance is lost and the fall occurs ... those are the more serious injuries that may require a little bit more of a complicated treatment plan," Lawlorsaid.

"I see things from just regular bumps and bruises, to sprains and strains."

Lawlorsays theserious injuriescan take months to fully recover. And in some cases, they never do.

That's why he tries to help his clients prevent falls in the first place.

"I quite frequently prescribe any form of exercise to work on the hip, the postural muscles, lower extremities and the legs to try to regain some of that balance," Lawlorsaid.

"Because the biggest thing that we can do to prevent a fall is actually to have some strength to be able to recover from a loss of balance."

• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |'Not just an old man's disease': 45-year-old P.E.I. woman surprised by deadly heart problem
• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |Film group rebrands, pushes to revitalize industry