More than 15 million older adults across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia suffer from a fall every year. A person may fall even though they might be seemingly healthy. Worse, if an adult has experienced a fall, it is a 60% chance they will fall again within a year!
Mobility Metrics such as Walking Steadiness and Walking Symmetry can be used freely through Oseterics App on iPhone. You don't need to be a subscriber to leverage this
Mobility loss in older individuals typically results from a combination of a complex interplay of physiological factors (such as decreased muscle strength, bone mass or medication side effects), psychological factors (including anxiety, depression, or cognitive changes), and environmental hazards (like poor lighting, uneven surfaces, or cluttered walkways).
Oseterics Yoga App provides Step Length, Walking Speed, Double Support Time, Walking Symmetry and Walking Steadiness
Preventing Falls and Building Confidence Against Fall Fears
While one in four older adults experiences atleast a fall every year, making falls one of the leading health concerns for the aging population. An added ~20% of older adults who have never fallen still report a fear of falling.
20-40% of older adults either fall or suffer from "fear of fall" in a year
Falls can have far-reaching consequences that extend well beyond the physical injuries they may cause. Individuals often report reduced confidence in performing previously routine activities like climbing stairs, fear of falling again, which can become a constant companion during movement, withdrawal from social activities due to anxiety about navigating different environments, reluctance to try new activities or engage in adventurous pursuits.
Seeing someone close or hearing about someone getting injured due to fall sows anxiety in many older adults
A routine balance, strength, and coordination-focused gentle exercise is the most effective strategy for building confidence from the fear of falling.
Mobility Metrics at your disposal
Traditional health metrics like weight, blood pressure, and blood sugar are important, but they often detect problems after damage has already occurred. Walking quality serves as a key indicator of long term-health status. And in many instances it starts depicting -
Walking metrics can show changes months or even years before conventional medical tests flag issues
The Oseterics app integrates with Apple Health to measure your daily movement patterns, such as your walking speed, step steadiness, and balance while moving. These metrics are easily accessible and they provide valuable directional guidance.
What you need to watch out for -
- Low Walking Steadiness: A score developed by Apple is a unified way that categorizes OK, Low or Very Low based on your other metrics.
- Declining Walking Speed: How quickly you move while walking. A deteriorating walking speed is correlated to progression of other health events.
- Decreasing Step Length: The average distance between your steps is great indicator of how healthy your lower body is.
- Increased Walking Asymmetry: Whether you’re spending more time on one foot than the other signals joint issues, muscle weakness or more
- Double Support Time: How long both feet are on the ground while you walk — higher values can mean less stability.
Oseterics Yoga makes it super easy to track these metrics, so you can see how you’re doing! We recommend keeping an eye on the trend of your parameters. If there is a negative parametric change, then it is time for interventions.
A routine balance, strength, and coordination-focused gentle exercise is the most effective strategy for building confidence from the fear of falling.
Recognizing Your Risk Factors
There are other less discussed factors that can affect your Balance and Mobility such as -
- Medications: It is crucial to be aware of the potential side effects of your medications. Blood pressure-lowering medications, sleep medications, certain diabetes medications and sedatives can cause unwarranted dizziness, which may lead to sudden falls. For each medications, do investigate if it can increase risk of your fall. Often dosages can be adjusted or alternatives found.
- Hearing : People with hearing or vision loss are nearly 3 times as likely to fall. Our ears do double duty of hearing as well as maintaining balance. Lower ability makes you less aware of your surrounding and potential hazards.Good news is wearing aids can lower the risk by 50%.
- Orthostatic Hypotension: The orthostatic hypotension occurs when your blood pressure drops suddenly as you change positions-standing up from sitting or lying down. As we age, this can become dominant. So it is critical to notice these subtle changes. One of the easiest things you can do is rise slowly.
- Weather and Seasonal Hazards: With winter around the corner, it is but obvious that you will have to be extra cautious about clearing snow and wearing the right shoes. Even in summer, you have to ensure that you stay well-hydrated.
- House Design: Keep a stock of your house design. In the article, "Crafting Future Spaces" we have covered how seemingly obvious designs may not be as age-friendly as you might think. From obvious changes such as bathroom designs to staircase designs, there are more nuanced changes that need to be made.
Our article on how to audit your house design: "Crafting Future Spaces" with Moira Denson
- Footwear: Proper footwear foundation matters a lot. We have to ensure that we have rugged treads, low heels and avoid walking in socks on smooth floors. Bathrooms are especially tricky and we need to make sure that they have non-slippery floors or mats.
Science is Clear: Exercise Works
Evidence from more than 100 studies involving 25,000+ participants show that exercise such as Yoga reduces fall rates in older adults by approximately 25% including home-based interventions.
Well structured workouts in Oseterics Yoga App delivered by senior instructors are extremely helpful in maintaining and gaining confidence with your balance and mobility. The exercises range from gentle flexibility to chair exercises focusing on your lower body, hips , upper body and more. Separate series for Balance, Coordination and Flexibility has been created by different instructors focusing on varying mobility. Try various instructors to find whose style resonates with you—just like finding the right doctor or therapist, the right instructor can make all the difference.
Oseterics is the only app that is senior-led and has been exclusively designed for older adults. You can also leverage Oseterics Yoga from your Mac and iPad apart from iPhone
Consistency Matters More than Intensity
Practicing Yoga is an on-going routine, not just a one-time program, to maintain fall prevention benefits. You can 'Favorite' your workouts to revisit later. Missed a workout to save it? you can always revisit it in 'History' under the Videos Section. Moreover you can also create schedule for your workouts by leveraging the 'Calendar' option on each workout. Finally make sure you have 'Notifications' turned on to ensure timely prompt for you to continue your journey.
For any feedbacks or questions, please reply to contact@oseterics.com
