Protective Pads Don't Save Hips
Some say the better approach is to prevent falls in the first place

(HealthDay News) -- Protective pads might cut down on injuries to football players, but they apparently don't do much for older people.

Researchers have found that, no matter how well-intentioned the effort, putting hip protector pads on older people won't prevent fractures.

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported no statistically significant difference in the rate of hip fracture between people wearing hip protectors and those without.

"We found that there was no benefit to the hip protector," study author Dr. Douglas Kiel, director of medical research at the Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, told HealthDay .

"At this point, I would say that most of the growing number of studies don't support the routine use of hip protectors in nursing homes," he said. "But, I don't think the future of hip protectors is totally negative. Maybe there are better pads out there, or will be in the future."

Kiel 's study included more than 1,000 residents from 37 different nursing homes. Almost 80 percent of the study volunteers were women, and the average age was 85.

Each participant wore specially designed undergarments fitted with a hip protector on one side. The average participation time was eight months.

The rate of hip fracture was 3.1 percent for hips that were protected and 2.5 percent for unprotected hips, the study found.

One reason hip protectors might not have been helpful is that "fractures often occur prior to impact," Dr. Gerard Varlotta, director of sports rehabilitation at New York University Langone Medical Center 's Rusk Institute, told HealthDay . "Just padding the hip won't protect against fracture."

More than 340,000 Americans break a hip each year. As many as 90 percent of those injuries are associated with a fall. Every year, about half of all nursing home residents fall at least once.

So, until someone builds a better hip protector, experts agree that the best advice may be to try to avoid falls in the first place. To that end, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases recommends:

• Controlling osteoporosis risk factors by consuming enough calcium and vitamin D and participating in weight-bearing exercises on a regular basis.
• Regularly doing muscle-strengthening exercises to improve balance.
• Practicing balance exercises every day.
• Telling a doctor if medications you're taking make you feel dizzy.
• Using a walker or a cane if you're having trouble with stability, especially when the weather is bad.
• Stopping at curbs and carefully assessing their height. Be especially careful at curbs that have been cut away for wheelchair access.
• Keeping floors free of clutter and removing throw rugs.
• Installing grab bars in the bathroom by the tub, shower and toilet.
• Wearing low-heeled, supportive shoes at all times. Don't walk around wearing just socks.
• Making sure all areas of your home are well-lit, especially stairways and bathrooms.

On the Web

To learn more about preventing falls, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SOURCES: HealthDay News ; Douglas Kiel, M.D., M.P.H., director of medical research, Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, and associate professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston; Gerard Varlotta, M.D., director of sports rehabilitation, New York University Medical Center's Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine/Hospital for Joint Disease, and clinical associate professor, New York University School of Medicine, New York City; July 25, 2007, Journal of the American Medical Association ; National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (www.niams.nih.gov)
Author: Serena Gordon
Publication Date: Aug. 31, 2008
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