Falls & frailty technology GaitSmart awarded NICE status following pilot with Age UK Norwich
Published on 12 April 2024 10:15 AM
A local charity has been piloting an innovative tool called GaitSmart, which has been awarded NICE status following national trials, including Norwich and East Norfolk.
NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) has published new guidance for the GaitSmart rehabilitation exercise programme for gait and mobility issues. GaitSmart offers a proactive approach by analysing a person’s gait biomechanics. This analysis provides healthcare professionals with a clear understanding of factors contributing to fall risk, such as gait asymmetry, balance issues, and muscle weakness.
Age UK Norwich have been working with the GaitSmart founders, using their Health Coaches who specialise in physical recovery, helping residents with the exercises to aid recovery from injuries like a fall, or following surgery such as a hip or knee replacement.
Falls are a leading cause of injury and hospitalisation for older adults, and the county has growing levels of frailty, with over 110,000 people aged over 65 living with a degree of frailty.
CEO of Age UK Norwich, Dan Skipper stated “Bringing together our Health Coaching and GaitSmart technology has been incredibly successful, helping us support clients to improve their strength, balance and confidence to aid their recovery. The combination of technology and human support from our coaches has shown how we can support people in the communities where they live to prevent frailty, maintain health, and independence. We are delighted GaitSmart has been awarded NICE status and how Age UK Norwich has played a role in that success. We now need our local commissioners to take notice and invest in partnerships like this to drive more prevention and rehabilitation in our communities.”
With this new guidance the GaitSmart programme can be offered to a wider cohort of people, aiming to help to reduce the risk and incidence of falls for adults in later life (clinical guideline CG161). The programme works by helping an individual to understand issues with their gait, proving them with personalised exercise plans to help them improve their posture and empowering them to make the changes needed, motivating them to continue with their exercises.
Diana Hodgins MBE, Founder & CEO of Dynamic Metrics the company who developed GaitSmart says “Our aim has always been to deliver the highest quality gait rehabilitation solution for people and to make it affordable for widespread use. NICE guidance for use in falls and frailty is key to helping the wider population and we are delighted that GaitSmart has been recognised for its potential to make such a difference in this area”
“Our partnership with Age UK Norwich has been positive and their Coaches have been part of the feedback on its development - it’s fantastic that they’ve invested in our technology and it’s a great example to the local NHS and social care.”