Falls sends more Canadians to hospital: report

TORONTO – A piece of raised concrete. An ice patch on the road. A faux pas in the staircase at home. All of these factors can lead to accidental drops – landing a person not only on the ground, but also often in the hospital.

Accidental falls are the most prevalent form of injury in the country: each year nearly 1,800 falls According to a new report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), the number emergency visits and 417 admissions to the hospital reached 654,000 in 2016-17, about one-third of the more than two million emergency visits are due to accidental falls, reported Thursday l & # 39; CIHI. Fall-related injuries resulted in approximately 152,500 hospitalizations, compared with more than 146,600 the year before

The average hospital stay after a fall was 14.3 days, compared to 7.5 days for for other medical reasons, according to the data. 19659004] Falls are the scourge of aging, said Geoff Fernie, principal investigator at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (TRI), which is independent of CIHI. He notes that older people are at greater risk of falling and tend to suffer more serious injuries.

"But these are not exclusively old people," he said. "We see a lot of young kids falling down the stairs and having serious head injuries.

"We see middle-aged people running up and down stairs and having accidents inside often enough. And we see a lot of workers who have falls – not just construction workers. People in winter, people who work in cafes and who fall in the parking lot when they arrive in the morning.

In fact, nearly 8,800 injuries caused by falls in Canada occurred because people were sliding on the ice. According to CIHI data

The falls inside the house counted more than 114,000 visits to the emergency department last year, making it the place the most common where people fall

. Said Fernie, who studies falls and ways to prevent them for 30 to 40 years

CIHI found that hip fractures were the most common injury in falls

. We are especially concerned about hips because they are extremely common and they are really hard to overcome if you are an elderly person, "Fernie said, noting that studies have shown that between 20 and 20 and 40 percent of seniors who break a hip die in less than a year.

CIHI found the most common injuries were lower leg fractures – including 16,135 fractured ankles – and head injuries (13,997).

"Head injuries are very worrying because they can be very serious," says Fernie. "You can have long-lasting effects from head injuries and people can be on leave for a year or two and get very affected."

Toronto Rehab runs a fall prevention program, primarily for elderly or injured.

But researchers are also looking for ways to prevent falls at the "environmental" level, including helping to increase the depth of the stairs under the Canada Building Code, a measure that has helped Save around 27

Toronto Rehab scientists also began badessing the safety of snow boots sold in Canada in 2016 (ratemytreads.com), which led some manufacturers to upgrade their shoes and some retailers said that they were going alone the winter boots are judged positive for anti-slip properties

In the prevention of falls, Fernie advises people, especially the elderly, to maintain their physical condition in order to promote a good balance.

It is important to wear the right shoes, while ensuring that the steps and stairs of the house are in good condition and that the handrails are suitable on both sides. Support bars in the bathrooms can also prevent falls.

Fernie said that when he lectures on falls, about a third of the audience will raise their hand when asked if he has a close relative who has been spilled and injured. But those who have not personally encountered an error, trip or trip have a tendency to neglect their serious potential. "We all think that cancer, heart disease and stroke are a serious problem – they sometimes die from them – but you also find that falls are extremely common and although they do not kill you. not immediately, sometimes they do. "