Apple’s iOS 15 has a fall prevention feature everyone should be using

Wearable devices are good at detecting if you’ve fallen, but it’s now possible to detect whether your walk is unstable or not before you fall.

Apple’s latest iPhone operating system, iOS 15, takes walking metrics already in the Health app—walking oddity, double support time, step length, and walking speed—and to rate a person’s overall walking stability. assesses them. After a few days of collecting data when you walk around, preferably carrying or wearing your iPhone at hip level, you will receive a notification that your walking stability is fine, low or very low.

That doesn’t mean it knows if you’re in imminent danger of a fall — the app can’t tell what hazards your home might be in — but it does provide an idea of ​​your risk of falls over the next 12 months. does. A low score can mean you can’t benefit from strength and balance-building exercises. Apple introduces five short videos in the Health app showing simple exercises people can do at home.

So why should you pay attention to the stability of your walk? Similar to hearing loss, your mobility gradually deteriorates over time. Problems don’t become apparent until they suddenly appear. Whether you’re a fit 70-year-old, a young athlete or a middle-aged hiker like me, paying attention to subtle changes in your movement can help you stave off problems later on.

More than one in four Americans age 65 and older fall each year, often suffering from hip fractures and traumatic brain injuries. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the death rate from falling for older adults increased by 30% between 2007 and 2016. If this rate continues, the CDC expects seven people to die an hour by 2030. Falling once doubles your chances of falling again.

Okay, so after knowing that you’re not so stable on your feet, and you’ve started doing simple exercises in the iPhone’s Health app, you’re good to go, right? not so fast. Apple suggests in the app that if you notice little or no walking stability, you should talk to your doctor.

next steps

It may also be time to assess hazards in your home, check your vision, and get a fall detection app or wearable device that can alert someone when you fall. Apple’s Apple Watch Series 4 and later models feature fall detection, Garmin offers event detection on some of its smartwatches, and there are several third-party fall-detection apps that you can use on Apple and Android phones. You can install it, as well as a fall-detection sensor you can wear or keep in your home.

Jessica Schwartz, a physical therapist in New York and a spokeswoman for the American Physical Therapy Association, reviewed the exercise videos in the app at my request. “Actually, no movement is better than no,” she said, but added that exercises alone may not provide the strength training needed to prevent falls. “They are a great place to start when making contact with a healthcare professional.”

She said walking statistics can help doctors and clinicians understand the underlying cause of instability and tailor exercises or other measures.

She said she prescribes a smartwatch or an activity tracker for all of her older clients, to encourage them to exercise more and have a window into their fitness level. She said that half of her patients 65 and older share their metrics with her. Now she plans to advise her patients who have iPhones to update to iOS 15, select the walking stability feature and share the results with her.

Dr. Schwartz said, “I often fall in after a fall hurt.” “I want to see people when they’re not already on the floor.”

There are some psychological barriers, experts say. People may not like exercising on a screen, or may become frustrated if they exercise and don’t see improvement. Or worse, the app itself can create a fear of falling.

Margie Lachman, director of the Boston Royal Center for Active Lifestyle Intervention and the Lifespan Lab at Brandeis University, said, “I wonder if people who use the app, if they get feedback that they are at risk, develop a fear of falling.” could.” Developed exercise classes called Matter of Balance to help seniors avoid falls, classes are offered at senior centers across the country.

“Will they be afraid to exercise or go out for a walk?” he said. “Inactivity can lead to decreased mobility.”

how to set it

There’s also a technical hurdle: having an iPhone that can run Apple’s latest mobile operating system. Luckily, the upgrade works for the iPhone 6S and all later models. People must choose to receive walk-in stability notifications and decide whether to share that data with their doctors or loved ones.

• To install iOS 15, make sure your phone is plugged in and connected to Wi-Fi. Go to Settings > General > Software Update and select iOS 15. Tap Install Now. If your phone says that it is up-to-date, it is possible that you already have this feature.

• Search or find the Health app—it’s a white square icon with a heart—preloaded on iPhones. Tap on Summary and scroll down until you see Walking Steadyness notification. Tap Set up. Fill in some details, such as your age, height and weight, and turn on notifications. Tap Done.

• It will take a few days to create a running stability history and receive information. To see how you’re doing, tap the Browse button in the lower-right corner of the app, then choose Mobility > Walking Steadyness.

• For best results, keep the phone in the front or back pocket, clip it to the belt or in a fall bag near your hips.

• To share metrics with your loved ones or your doctor, tap the sharing icon at the bottom of the Health app. Tap Share with, then search for the name of the contact you want to share with. Or choose “Share with your doctor” and follow the prompts. To view health data, the doctor or contact must also have an iPhone running iOS 15.

• Other highly rated movement apps that include strength-building exercises include Wakeout, Aptiv, and FitOn.