Every second, the agency reports, an American takes a spill. In 2014, seniors fell down 29 million times, leading to 7 million injuries and 27,000 deaths. The injuries lead to 2.8 million emergency room visits and roughly $31 billion in Medicare spending.

Fall figures are expected to continue rising as more baby boomers enter old age.

While the vast majority of seniors don't die immediately after a tumble, many are rendered permanently disabled as a result and are forced to sacrifice their independence. Injuries caused by falls, such as broken hips, often devastate a person's quality of life and significantly reduce their life expectancy.

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A 2012 study that compared 250 elderly residents of a local community who had suffered fall-related fractures to 250 in the same community who had not found that 25 percent of the first group died within the year, compared to only 4 percent of the latter group.

Of course, in many instances a devastating fall is the result of declining health, rather than the cause of it. But injuries that leave previously mobile people immobile are also likely to provoke a decline in health.

Advocacy groups are trying to raise awareness of the risks of falling and the ways seniors can learn to take steps (pun intended) to avoid taking spills as well as ways health care providers can educate patients on what they should do to reduce their risks.

The National Council on Aging held its annual Fall Prevention Awareness Day on Thursday. It is now recognized by 48 states and the District of Columbia.

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According to the CDC, making sure seniors are eating well and getting enough critical nutrients, such as Vitamin D, is an important component of risk reduction. Exercise, such as tai-chi, which promotes balance, is also helpful.