It's been a bad winter for icy falls on P.E.I.

It can happen in an instant, and it can take weeks to recover from.

Rose Marie Braden learned that the hard way a few weeks ago, when she fell and hit her head. She's been off work for two weeks now with a concussion.

She and some friends were out for a hike on the trails in Bonshaw, the provincial park west of Charlottetown. She stopped in the outhouse before getting started.

"I was walking out of the outhouse, and I put Purell on my hands and I was trying to shake the Purell off my hands, so I was focused on that," said Braden.

"Next thing you know I'm on the ground."

Suffering from nausea and dizziness, and with a large bump on her head, friends took her straight to the hospital. Two weeks later she is still sensitive to bright lights and loud noises but that is improving, and her face looks better.

'One of those winters'

Colin Moore, a physiotherapist at Sports Centre Physiotherapy, has seen a lot of patients like Braden, who one moment were on their feet and the next needed medical attention.

"This year seems to be one of those winters where conditions are poor underfoot," said Moore.

Currently he is seeing people with minor injuries sprains, muscle strain, bruises, low back trouble but he is expecting to be seeing people who hurt themselves more seriously in the coming weeks.

"People who have a more significant injury, we tend to not see them for six to eight weeks because unfortunately for them they end up with a fracture and getting casted and there's not a lot we do with them until that cast comes off," he said.

Moore said one of the best ways to avoid a fall is to stay fit. He most commonly sees older people with these injuries, people who are not active and have lost some strength and balance.

Beyond that, Moore recommends traction aids that can be slipped over shoes, walking more slowly, and keeping your feet a little further apart for a wider base of support.

"But that being said accidents can happen to anybody," he said.

"Snow-covered ice that you don't see, that can catch almost anybody."

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