Help For When You’ve Fallen And Can’t Get Up
I recall some years ago, I was skipping rope at recess with my 5th grade students. I was holding my own, until they turned the game into a “see-how-high-you-can-jump-over-the-rope contest.” No sweat. The rope was only two feet off of the ground. I jumped. I landed—but not on my feet. No, I came down like a cartoon piano dropped from a sixth-story window. I was not expecting that at all, which made it fairly scary.
Thank goodness, I was only scraped up. But anytime we adults fall, it can be traumatic and the cause of more serious injuries. The dangers of taking a spill only increase as we age, too. What if my injuries had been worse, and no one were around to help me? Sure, I wouldn’t have been so embarrassed, but I would’ve been in trouble. Fortunately, there are many smart devices available to assist us after a bad fall.
According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), some of the best rated, dedicated fall detection devices are:
Medical Guardian
Mobile Help
Bay Alarm Medical
UnaliWear Kanega smart watch
If you would like to see more details from the NCOA test results, visit https://www.ncoa.org/adviser/medical-alert-systems/best-medical-alert-systems-fall-detection/
For our purposes here, however, I’d like to discuss a particular device that many people already have, or are considering buying: the Apple Watch. While it is not a dedicated fall detection device, as it offers myriad other functions, it does have the ability to know when you take a spill and then report it to emergency services and your emergency contacts. It’s not as highly rated as those listed in the NCOA’s testing, but again, many adults already own one.
How to set it up:
The Apple Watch Series 4 or later, Apple Watch SE, and Apple Watch Ultra all come with fall detection. If you are between the ages of 18 and 55, you can turn this function on manually in the settings. If you are age 55 and older, it’s turned on automatically.
Here’s where you can set it up if you’re under 55, or if you just want to check it:
Open the Apple Watch app on the iPhone connected to your watch (yes, you also need to have an iPhone)
Select “Emergency SOS”
Scroll to “Fall Detection”
Slide to “On” position
How it works:
When sensors in your watch detect a hard fall, your watch will then:
Tap on your wrist
Sound an alarm
Display an alert on the screen
Apple Watch Fall Detection
You can cancel the alarm or contact 911 by sliding the SOS Emergency Call icon on the screen.
If your Apple Watch detects no movement from you after about a minute, it will begin a 30-second countdown before it automatically calls emergency services with an automated message, letting them know that you’ve fallen and giving your GPS coordinates. The watch also sends a message to your emergency contacts that you set up in the Medical ID section of the Health app on your iPhone.
The Apple Watch may not detect all falls (e.g. a slow, gradual fall), but it will in many cases save your bacon. If you feel that you need a more accurate fall detection device, one with a dedicated 24/7 answering service, you may need to investigate those outlined in the NCOA list above.
Note: If you have an Android smartphone, there are many non-Apple smartwatches that perform similarly.
According to Whytlie Beasley, occupational therapist with Fox Rehabilitation, the places where falls occur most frequently are (from most common to least):
On the stairs
Many falls also happen when an individual stands up after sitting for a while or gets out of bed:
In the living room
In the bedroom
And, where the most serious injuries take place:
In the bathroom
There are steps, Beasley says, that you can take to minimize the risk of falling:
Remove throw rugs, or at the very least, tape them down smoothly so there’s less of a lip sticking up
Remove furniture with sharp edges and corners
Watch out for pets on the floor (We have a nickname for our black lab: “Speed Bump”)
Keep toys and other objects picked up and out of walkways
Install railings on steps and handholds in bathrooms
Use a nightlight at home and when you travel
Given that a lot of falls take place in the bedroom and bathroom, the Apple Watch won’t do you any good if it’s not on your wrist. I recommend wearing it to bed and turning on the Water Lock feature when in the shower. Charge the watch at other times in the day.
Water Lock Feature
Finally, Beasley also recommends setting alarms on your watch to get up and move or exercise every hour or two during the day to help loosen up and stay healthy. For more information on fall protection, you can contact Whytlie Beasley at whytlie.beasley@foxrehab.org.
In addition, if you need any help with your Apple Watch, please feel free to contact me!