Apple Health could soon become a valuable tool for orthopedic surgeons, according to a study presented at the 2025 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons annual meeting.
While Apple Health has long been able to calculate a number of patient vitals, including heart rate, blood oxygen levels and fall risk, it can now assess recovery metrics for patients following surgeries, according to a March 10 news release shared with Becker’s.
Apple Health can assess recovery following lower extremity trauma surgery, such as tibial plateau, distal femur and femoral shaft fractures.
The study used certain Apple Health mobility parameters to objectively measure improvement by using a patient’s mobility data prior to injury as a baseline metric.
Researchers looked at adult patients with lower extremity fractures who owned iPhones and had at least six months of post-injury follow up. Patients then shared Apple Health data and completed patient-reported outcome surveys encompassing physical function and pain.
Metrics included daily step count, walking asymmetry, double support time, walking speed and step length. Researchers reviewed patient mobility pre-injury, the first 28 days after injury and six months post-injury.
The study found that on average from pre- to post-injury, patient step count decreased by 93%, walking speed decreased by 9%, step length decreased by 6%, walking asymmetry increased by 88% and walking double support increased by 1%.
“These findings suggest that smartphone-measured step counts not only correlate with adverse clinical outcomes but may also predict them, allowing for earlier intervention and improved patient care,” Nathan O’Hara, PhD, a lead researcher on the study and an associate professor of orthopedics at University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore, said in the release.
The researchers are now developing an iPhone app patients can download during their initial visit with an orthopedic surgeon to track Apple Health mobility data.
