The UpRight® Active Aging program has been developed with Altura’s hands-on experience supporting older adults during their healthcare journeys. This experience, coupled with an expert advisory board in the area of strength, balance, and mobility, helped create and continuously enhance practical solutions for health systems and patients. Our advisory board includes: physicians/geriatricians, physician health system leaders, pharmacists, physical therapists, and population health leaders.

The UpRight® Active Aging Approach

A proven program designed to support health systems and healthcare professionals with easy-to-use, customizable, and scalable tools and technology.  Most importantly, these tools and resources can be used by patients in the comfort of their own home.

active aging

Strength, Balance & Mobility

Specific patient resources, based on current need, that help people do what matters most

reduce falls

Reduce​ Fall Risk

Targeted and proven activities that improve stability, build confidence, and prevent fall-related injuries​​

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Tech​ & Human Touch​

Digital tools and trained specialists for engagement and personalized support​ anytime, anywhere

Transforming Proactive & Preventive
Engagement for Older Adults

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Home-Based
Solution​

A customizable solution that supports patients at home in between clinic visits​

engagement

Increased Patient Loyalty

Helping patients do what matters most enhances satisfaction and health

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Reduced Utilization & Costs ​

Data shows lower ED/ER fall visits and patient reported falls

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Improved Quality Measures ​

Ability to impact STAR & other quality measures to support better health & performance

“The >65 population will continue to grow at a significant rate which creates more pressure for health systems to proactively address mobility and fall risk. By supporting Older Adults to increase their physical fitness (health benefits & reduced fall risk) in a competitive environment that is driven by value-based reimbursement and measures, health systems can also drive both loyalty and quality related performance (e.g. STAR).”

Steven Castle, MD
Clinical Professor of Geriatric Medicine at UCLA
Clinical Director of Geriatrics at the VA Greater Los Angeles

UpRight®
Active Aging Program

Patient-Centered and Expert Driven for Results

  • Health systems choose level of resources to match
    need and budget.
  • Easy start-up with no integration or staffing needs.
  • Scalable to address growth.
  • Flexible to focus on rising and high-risk cohorts.
  • Easy access from home in between clinic visits.
  • Mobility level (level 1, 2, or 3) and need specific exercises and education designed to address what matters most to individual patients (increases engagement)​.
  • Validated, risk-stratified assessments that support
    relevant and timely interventions.​​
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Published Studies Supporting the Benefits
of Physical Activity for Older Adults

Extra hour of weekly exercise reduces risk of atrial fibrillation

Adding an extra hour every week of physical activity may lower the chance of developing the most common type of irregular heartbeat (arrythmia) by 11 percent, shows a new study presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association. The results showed that those with higher amounts of weekly physical activity were less likely to develop atrial fibrillation. Notably, the researchers say, even modest amounts of moderate to vigorous exercise, which can range from taking a brisk walk or cleaning the house to swimming laps or jogging, were associated with reduced risk. Specifically, study participants who averaged between 2.5 and 5 hours per week, the minimum amount recommended by the American Heart Association, showed a 60 percent lower risk of developing atrial fibrillation.

[Link]

NYU Langone Health

Weekly workouts may lower risk of dementia for people with high blood pressure

Vigorous exercise more than once a week can lower the risk of dementia for people with high blood pressure, a new clinical trial shows. People who engaged each week in vigorous physical activity had lower rates of mild cognitive impairment and dementia despite their high blood pressure, according to results published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. The protective impact of vigorous exercise on brain health was more pronounced for those younger than 75, results showed. “We know that physical exercise offers many benefits, including lowering blood pressure, improving heart health and potentially delaying cognitive decline,” said lead researcher Dr. Richard Kazibwe.

[Link]

Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association

Sitting 30 minutes less per day may cut high blood pressure among seniors

Seniors wound up with lower blood pressure after they were coached to get up and move more often, a new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open says. Health coaching successfully reduced sitting time for a group of older adults by just over 30 minutes a day, according to a report. Sitting less led to a reduction of nearly 3.5 points in the seniors’ average blood pressure, researchers said. “Our findings are really promising because sitting less is a change that may be easier for people than increasing physical activity, especially for older adults who are more likely to be living with restrictions like chronic pain or reduced physical function,” said lead researcher Dori Rosenberg.

[Link]

JAMA Network Open: Journal of the American Medical Association

Consistent exercise improves sleep and reduces insomnia

Consistently exercising 2-3 times a week over the long term is linked to a lower current risk of insomnia as well as the ability to clock up the recommended 6-9 hours of shut eye every night, suggests a study published in the journal BMJ Open. Those who were persistently active were significantly (42%) less likely to find it difficult to fall asleep, 22% less likely to have any symptom of insomnia, and 40% less likely to report 2 or 3 (37% less likely) insomnia symptoms.

[Link]

BMJ Journals: BMJ Open

Small amounts of physical activity could help ward off stroke in the long term

Even people whose physical activity levels fall short of recommended guidelines, but who manage to do some during their leisure time, are likely to have a lower risk of stroke than their sedentary peers, suggests a data analysis published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. “According to our results, all levels of [leisure time physical activity] can be beneficial for stroke prevention, including levels currently regarded as low or insufficient,” the researchers write.

[Link]

BMJ Journals: Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry

Study identifies optimal daily steps for heart failure prevention in older women

A new study published in JAMA Cardiology reports that, on average, 3,600 steps per day at a normal pace was associated with a 26% lower risk of developing heart failure. To the contrary, each hour-and-a-half of sedentary time was associated, on average, with a 17% higher risk of experiencing heart failure. “Accumulating 3,000 steps per day might be a reasonable target that would be consistent with the amount of daily activity performed by women in this study” said the study’s lead author, Michael J. LaMonte, PhD.

[Link]

JAMA Cardiology: Journal of the American Medical Association

Boost in cardio fitness may cut risk of prostate cancer

Even small increases in a man’s cardio fitness can significantly reduce his risk of developing prostate cancer, according to a report published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. An annual increase in aerobic fitness of 3% or more is linked to a 35% lower risk of prostate cancer, according to researchers. And when researchers looked at the specific groups, they found that men with 3% or more yearly increase in fitness were 35% less likely to develop prostate cancer than those whose fitness declined. “Improvements in [cardiorespiratory fitness] in adult men should be encouraged and may reduce the risk of prostate cancer,” concluded the research team led by Dr. Kate Bolam.

[Link]

BMJ Journals: British Journal of Sports Medicine

Study confirms the mental health benefits of weight training for older individuals

Weight training can help reduce body fat and increase muscle strength and mass in older people, contributing to functional autonomy and avoidance of falls and injury. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that it can also benefit the mental health of older people, especially those who suffer from anxiety and depression. These benefits were confirmed by a study reported in the journal Psychiatry Research. “Resistance training has been shown to be one of the most effective non-pharmacological strategies for healthy aging. It promotes countless health benefits, including improvements to mental health,” said Paolo Cunha.

[Link]

Science Direct: Psychiatry Research

Cardiovascular Benefits Seen With as Few as 2,600 Steps Daily

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) benefits can be seen from as few as about 2,600 steps per day, according to a review recently published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The researchers found significant risk reductions with 2,517 steps/day for all-cause mortality and 2,735 steps/day for incident CVD versus 2,000 steps/day (reference). “These findings can extend contemporary physical activity prescriptions given the easy-to-understand concept of step count,” the authors write.

[Link]

JACC Journals: Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Five minutes of extra exercise a day could lower blood pressure

Adding small amounts of exercise into daily routine, such as climbing stairs or cycling to the shops, could help to reduce blood pressure, with just five additional minutes a day estimated to yield improvements. The study found that replacing any less active behavior with five minutes of exercise could lower systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). The study estimated that ‘clinically meaningful’ improvements could be achieved with as little as 20 additional minutes of exercise per day for SBP and 10 additional minutes of exercise per day for DBP.

[Link]

AHA Journals: Circulation

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