6 overlooked risks of falls for seniors and how to prevent them

Cheryl Zimmerman knows all too well what it's like to fall.

Zimmerman, 75, says she fell three times within a two-week period in April.

The Toronto senior considers herself lucky that she didn't get hurt, but "for a while after that, I was just afraid of going out and walking around," she told White Coat, Black Art host Dr. Brian Goldman.

Falls are the No. 1 cause of injury-related hospitalization for Canadian seniors aged 65 and older, according to a 2014 Public Health Agency of Canada report, with about half of these hospitalizations resulting from a fall in the home. It's estimated that between 20 and 30 per cent of seniors fall each year.

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