The pendant is for after you fall. This is for before. 1 in 4 adults over 65 falls each year — and for months beforehand the walking quietly slows and steadies less, if anyone's watching. Start with the free 3-minute STEADI screener below, or skip straight to the number: a 60-second read of the walking data already on their phone. Not a pendant. Not fear. Your number, and what to do about it.
Take the 20-second walk test — free Or take the free 3-minute fall-risk screener ↓A fall-risk score you glance at and ignore is worse than useless. This isn’t a tracker — it’s one number and the exact next step, across three doors:
Check every box that applies to you or your parent. No right or wrong answers — just honest ones. Based on the CDC STEADI initiative used in primary care.
These questions are drawn from the CDC STEADI screening approach used in primary care. Check every box that applies — there are no wrong answers.
Your answers stay in your browser. Nothing is stored or sent anywhere — unless you sign in and choose to save your result to your own ComfortCard record.
Their iPhone has been quietly measuring their walking for months. HealthGait turns that into one number, free, in about 60 seconds — nothing leaves the device.
Get your gait numberA co-op.care assessment matches you with a caregiver trained in fall prevention who knows your home, your routines, and the warning signs. Worker-owned, W-2 employed, and accountable to you — not a staffing agency.
Get matched with a fall-prevention caregiverCompanion care starting at $59/mo. HSA-eligible with Letter of Medical Necessity.
The strongest protection isn’t more worry — it’s having said, out loud and ahead of time, what you’d want and who speaks for you. It’s free, and it takes about 20 minutes.
Make the plan — talk it through with Sage → Read: before the fall — why money isn’t a plan →This screener is based on the CDC STEADI initiative used in primary care. It is not a medical diagnosis. Consult your primary care provider for a full fall risk evaluation.
Falls have identifiable risk factors — balance, medication side effects, home environment, strength. Most of those factors are changeable. The consequences of waiting are not.
before vs. after intervention
A 23-percentage-point reduction is not a small effect. This is what Cochrane review evidence looks like in practice. Most of it is achievable without a clinical visit.
Their iPhone already measures their walking steadiness — a validated fall-risk signal. Our sibling program MotionSole reads it day over day and warns you weeks before their risk rises. The sensor's already in their pocket.
See continuous monitoring on MotionSole →Most fall risk is addressable. Start with the category that matches the screener results above.
Blood pressure meds, sedatives, antihistamines, and antidepressants all increase fall risk. Medication side effects account for an estimated 40% of falls. Ask your provider for a medication review using the Beers Criteria. Most high-risk meds have safer alternatives.
Loose rugs, poor lighting, no grab bars in the bathroom, cords across walkways. A 30-minute home walk-through addresses most environmental risks before they cause a fall.
Strength and balance exercises reduce fall risk by 23% (Cochrane review, 2019). The Otago Exercise Programme is the most evidence-supported home protocol. Sit-to-stand 10 times, twice a day, is the single most effective lower-body exercise.
Annual eye exams matter. Bifocals on stairs are a specific known risk — single-vision lenses for outdoor use reduce falls. Cataracts that reduce depth perception are correctable.
Bare feet and socks on hard floors are dangerous. Firm-soled, closed-toe shoes indoors. Numbness from peripheral neuropathy — common with diabetes — is a direct balance signal.
The most underrated risk factor. Isolated older adults move less, weaken faster, and fall more. A Matter of Balance is a free evidence-based group program that cuts fear and falls by 30%.
Walk the paths your parent takes every day. These six checks catch most of the home hazards that cause falls.
Every loose rug is a fall waiting to happen. Remove them, or tape every edge with double-sided carpet tape. No exceptions.
Turn off every light. If you can't see the path from bed to bathroom, neither can they. Motion-sensor nightlights cost $10 each. Install one at every turn.
Try standing using only one hand. If it's hard for you, it's harder for them. Grab bars beside the toilet and in the shower cost $20 each and take 15 minutes to install.
Search "[medication name] fall risk." Blood pressure meds, sleep aids, antihistamines, and antidepressants all make the list. Bring the list to the next provider visit.
If it slides, replace it today. A non-slip bath mat costs $10. A hip fracture costs $30,000 — and that's before the recovery.
Phone chargers, lamp cords, extension cords across walkways. Each one is a trip hazard. Route them along walls and secure them.
The CDC's STEADI program (Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths & Injuries) identifies the modifiable risk factors with the strongest clinical evidence. Here is what each factor means — and what specifically reduces it.
4+ medications, or any sedative/hypnotic, antihypertensive, antidepressant, or anticholinergic. Polypharmacy multiplies fall risk dose-by-dose. Blood pressure meds cause orthostatic drops; sedatives blur balance signals.
A clinical pharmacist review reducing psychoactive medications cut fall rates 39–66% in RCTs (Campbell et al., BMJ 1999; Pit et al., Cochrane 2023 update). Ask PCP to request a "medication reconciliation for fall risk."
Inability to hold single-leg stance 10 seconds, or Timed Up-and-Go >12 seconds. Reduced proprioception and slower neuromuscular response time make corrective steps fail when a stumble begins.
Targeted balance + strength exercises 23–40% fall reduction over 12 months. Tai Chi specifically reduced fall rate 31% in meta-analysis of 4,000+ participants (Cochrane 2019; Li et al., JAMA IM 2018). Weekly PT or home Otago program qualifies.
Loose rugs, poor lighting, lack of grab bars, high thresholds, clutter on stairs. Nearly 55% of falls in community-dwelling adults happen inside the home (CDC WISQARS 2023). The bathroom and bedroom are the highest-risk zones.
OT-led home modification programs reduced falls 26% in high-risk adults with prior fall history (Gillespie et al., Cochrane 2012). Grab bars + non-slip surfaces + improved lighting are the highest-yield modifications. One OT visit pays for itself after one prevented ER trip.
Up to 50% of community-dwelling older adults report fear of falling — even those who have never fallen (Zijlstra et al., Age & Ageing 2007). Fear causes activity restriction, which accelerates deconditioning and paradoxically increases actual fall risk.
This 8-session group cognitive-behavioral program reduced fear of falling and actual fall rates by 28–35% at 12 months (Tennstedt et al., Gerontologist 1998; widely replicated). Available through most Area Agencies on Aging free or low-cost. Ask: "Does my county AAA offer A Matter of Balance?"
Uncorrected refractive error, cataracts, or first-eye post-cataract glasses adjustment all increase fall risk. Bifocals specifically impair depth perception on stairs — the bottom step appears closer than it is.
First-eye cataract surgery reduces falls 34% in the year following (Harwood et al., BMJ 2005). Annual eye exam covered by Medicare Part B. If bifocals are worn on stairs, switching to single-vision lenses for outdoor activity reduces stair falls (Lord et al., JAMA 2010).
Sources: CDC STEADI Clinical Toolkit (2023); Cochrane Reviews: Gillespie et al. 2012 (home modification), Sherrington et al. 2019 (exercise); Campbell et al. BMJ 1999; Li et al. JAMA Internal Medicine 2018; Harwood et al. BMJ 2005. Effect sizes from peer-reviewed RCTs and meta-analyses of community-dwelling adults 65+. Individual results vary.
Telling a parent they are a fall risk feels like telling them they are old. Most families avoid it until after something happens. By then the options are narrower.
A fall is not bad luck. It is a preventable event with identifiable risk factors — balance, medication side effects, home environment, strength. Most of those factors are changeable.
Frame it as your worry, not their weakness. Most parents will say yes to that. The assessment above takes three minutes. Start there.