Walking - we don’t appreciate it until it’s gone!

Last week I wrote about the opportunities in leveraging data from consumer wearables. This week I wanted to shift gears slightly to talk about walking. At the beginning of November I mentioned “boring movement” - the little segments of movement you do throughout your day. For most healthy humans these are short walking segments (unless you are really, really keen on running everywhere). Prior to my PhD I hadn’t thought about walking very much, and most people don’t until (a) you decide to do a PhD in a lab focused on the evolution of bipedal walking, or (b) you get injured or lose mobility in some way. But, in healthcare, walking is often referred to as the sixth vital sign and a core component of human health. This is because walking is a surprisingly complex movement that requires coordination and balance as you shift your weight, propel off the ground with one foot, and swing one leg while moving, while balancing on the other, until your heel reaches the ground and you repeat the process on the other side. It’s a movement we do automatically after our early developmental period, which means it’s a great indicator of changes occurring in the musculoskeletal or neurological systems, and an indicator of your overall physiological health. Metrics as simple as walking speed are important - decreased walking speed is directly associated with mortality risk. Next time you go for a walk, think about how you’re moving and notice how complicated it is (but don’t fall over!). And check out this article from National Geographic.  🧠

Median additional years of predicted survival based on sex, age, and gait speed. 

Studenski S, Perera S, Patel K, et al. Gait Speed and Survival in Older Adults. JAMA. 2011;305(1):50–58. doi:10.1001/jama.2010.1923