Your iPhone gait analysis could give you clues about your overall healthhere’s what the walking asymmetry stat means.
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A high percentage point on something like walking asymmetry in particular might seem… pretty damning.
If we cant even walk symmetrically, what does that say about our health?
Built-in motion sensors automatically record those percentages whenever you stash your phone in a pocket near your waist.
Those numbers might seem high.
certified corrective exercise specialist and chiropractor at Unity Health Wellness in New York City
But the truth is, humans arent symmetrical creatures.
(Heck, even our personalrelationships can be asymmetrical.)
And good walking asymmetry comes down to how you feel, not what your iPhones stats say.
I wouldnt want anybody to get really over obsessive with forcing themselves to [get] a perfect score.
The average falls between 20 and 40 percent, according toApple.
We can learn a lot about a patient who spends too much time on both legs, Glick says.
This could be a signal that someone might be feeling unstable.
In that case, Glick says, theyd work together onbalance exercisesand fall prevention.
Causes
Walking asymmetry is a pretty natural phenomenon.
certified corrective exercise specialist and chiropractor at Unity Health Wellness in New York City
Sometimes thats thanks to a genetic abnormality like having one shorter leg.
Or, you might just have built up more strength on a given side over the years.
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If someone is very consistent with asymmetry, we can be calm about it, Glick says.
This could mean that one side has grown weaker than the other, or theyre limping due to pain.
But its far more likely to be sparked by something relatively harmless.
Certain joints of the spine or certain muscles might get overused, Di says.
Before that occurs, however, youll feel pain that will alert you that somethings off.
Purposefully notice when we are leaning our bodies one way versus the other, she says.
Once you become aware of those habits, you could consciously switch things up.
And youll also know where you might need to actively stretch and strengthen to even out muscle imbalances.
For instance, if youve got uneven strength in your legs and glutes, exercises likelunge variationscan be beneficial.
This is how we move aroundnot with squats, and not with swimming, she says.
Laroche, Dain P et al.
Strength asymmetry increases gait asymmetry and variability in older women.Medicine and science in sports and exercisevol.
44,11 (2012): 2172-81. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e31825e1d31
Lee IShiroma EJKamada MBassett DRMatthews CEBuring JE.
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