EDMONTON — Erica Wuensch has strong core muscles from exercising for more than 30 years, but she still slipped and fell on unseen ice on a sidewalk, fracturing both elbows.

Just because you exercise to reduce your risk of falling doesn’t mean you’ll never fall, she says, but even if you do, you’ll recover much more quickly because you’re fitter.

The 70-year-old avid hiker tells this to everyone who takes the Stretching and Core Strengthening class she teaches as a volunteer at the William Lutsky YMCA.

The class is aimed at seniors, but it attracts quite a few women in their late 40s and early 50s, says Wuensch (pronounced winch).

“There is so much talk these days about the importance of core strength, and younger, middle-aged women are really interested in a class that dwells on that,” she notes. “Everyone should have that in their repertoire, as well as weight-bearing activities like walking. Because one of the things we in the fitness industry know is that keeping moving and stretching, and keeping your mobility up, will help you to deal with falling, so that even if you do fall, the consequences may not be as great as for someone who is sedentary,” Wuensch says.

Falling isn’t a normal part of aging. Anyone can fall at any age, but the risk increases the older you get, according to Finding Balance Alberta, an annual campaign to counteract the problem. One in three Alberta seniors fall each year, costing the Alberta medical system $96 million in 2008. With the growing number of elderly in the province, costs could climb to $228 million by 2031.

People need to become more educated about what causes falls and how to prevent them, says

Wuensch.

Being inactive, trouble with medication, poor eyesight and cluttered homes are common reasons for seniors’ spills.

In her Y class, Wuensch targets inactivity with a series of stretches and exercises, building up the core muscles that keep a body upright.

czdeb@edmontonjournal.com