Balance sway
Your phone measures how much you sway standing still. People who swayed more fell more.
How to do it
Stand within reach of a wall or counter, or with someone beside you, and open your eyes or steady yourself whenever you need to.
- Take off your shoes and stand beside a wall or counter.
- Hold your phone flat against the middle of your chest with both hands, screen facing out.
- Stand still for 20 seconds in each of three stances: feet together with eyes open, feet together with eyes closed, then one foot in front of the other.
- A tone starts each one and two tones end it, so you can keep your eyes closed.
Your result
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What the research found
Your phone's motion sensor picks up the small leans of standing still, the idea behind a lab's balance plate but less precise. In 1,877 70-year-olds in Sweden who stood on a balance board, those who swayed the most with their eyes closed had about twice the odds of going on to fall (odds ratio 1.90), after allowing for strength, mobility and other factors. Phone sensors are better at the larger sway of harder stances than at the small sway of standing on both feet, which is why the last stance here is heel to toe. There's no normal range for this phone version yet, so compare with your own results.
Studied in: 1,877 adults aged 70 in Sweden, on a balance board.
- Johansson J et al. Increased postural sway during quiet stance as a risk factor for prospective falls in community-dwelling elderly individuals. Age Ageing. 2017;46(6):964-70. PubMed
- Dewan BM et al. Kinematic validation of postural sway measured by Biodex Biosway (force plate) and SWAY Balance (accelerometer) technology. Biomed Res Int. 2019;2019:8185710. PubMed