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Phone:
01835 864866
Fax: 01835 863238
Brockhirst,
Oxnam Road, Jedburgh, TD8 6QN, Roxburghshire
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Is there a future for hip protectors? External hip protectors are devices commonly used for the reduction of the risk of fall related hip injuries - namely hip fractures - in the elderly people, who have compromised bone strength. Most hip fractures occur as a result of a sideway fall, directly impacting on the greater trochanter of the proximal femur. Falls and hip fractures have serious implications on the elderly persons' lives as their consequences can be very severe. There is a high degree of morbidity and mortality, pain and hardship. The majority of people suffering hip fracture never regain their previous mobility and permanently lose their independence. The costs to the health services and social care systems are very high. Preventing hip fractures is, therefore, of paramount importance. Three categories of preventive measures can be implemented:
There has been much debate in respect of the effectiveness of the external hip protectors in the prevention of fall related hip fractures. In the past year their have been several major studies on hip protectors reporting that hip protector is not an effective intervention to reduce hip fractures in the frail elderly people. The conclusions were based largely on low acceptance of hard hip protectors followed by consistently poor compliance with hard shell hip protectors observed during these studies.
The above studies confirm what is a common sense observation - hard plastic shells in an underwear do not constitute a comfortable garment that can be or will be readily worn! A recent paper by Thompson et al from Dorset suggests a relatively high 48% chance of a resident wearing the hip protectors after 1 year (An in - service evaluation of hip protector use in residential homes. Thompson P, Jones C, Dawson A, Thomas P, Villar T. Age and Ageing 2005; 52-56). *The hip protector studied in all above trials was a commonly known hard shell hip protector.
HipSaver is a soft hip protector and presents a soft and a user friendly alternative to hard shell hip protector such as the most commonly cited Safehip! HipSaver® hip protector uses encapsulated soft memory foam pads that have been proven effective and acceptable over many years of use. Biomechanical tests from two independent universities show that HipSavers soft hip protectors reduce fall forces to below the average fracture force. Two studies published in the USA prove both efficacy and high compliance with HipSavers soft hip protectors. The most recent 13 months long study published in the Journal of American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA) reports zero fracture in 126 falls and a staggering 93% compliance rate in a nursing home population. The Rhino Project 12 month long hip protector study reports high user and carer acceptance and high compliance. Small study at Loughborough University found HipSaver soft hip protector to be superior to the hard shell protector Safehip in terms of usability and compliance. In this study the 'day time' compliance with HipSaver soft hip protector was 67% and only 53% with Safehip hard hip protector. Hip Pads: Effective fracture prevention. George Gross, Tsan-Hui Chen, Carolyn Flaherty. (2000). Advance for Physical Therapists, 11(22), 45-46. In the UK, the RHINO Project - a 12 Months Hip Protector Study carried out in Dudley, West Midlands (project funded by the DTi Modernisation Grant) between July 2003 and June 2004 - also confirmed the superiority of the soft HipSavers over the hard shell Safehips. You can view the Rhino Project Final Report here! View and print out a summary of another successful Hip Protector Project carried out in South West Kent NHS Primary Care Trusts - South West Kent PCT Hip Protector Trial Read and print a Hip Protector Pilot Project Report completed in the Medway and Swale. Prevention of fall-induced hip fractures: Usability evaluation of hip protectors. K.R. Dunn, C.L. Brace, T. Masud, R.A. Haslam, R.O. Morris. Contemporary Ergonomics 2005 (edited by P.D. Bust and P.T. McCabe). Taylor and Francis, London. Ergonomics Society Conference, Hatfield, 6-8 April 2005, pp 464-468, ISBN 0415374480 With 11 years on the global market, HipSaver is widely used with real successes experienced in several countries, such as USA, Canada, Ireland, Australia, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Sweden, Israel and Germany. Recently published survey of hip protector use in the Republic of Ireland revealed that amongst the users of hip protectors 48.5% were using HipSaver hip protector exclusively; 27.3% were using Safehip hip protector and further 21.2% were using both. Hip Protectors - A Survey of Practice in Ireland. E. K. Stokes, A. Bourke, F. Monahan, C. Scully. The Irish Medical Journal, January 2005; Volume 98, No 1. Recently published 'cost-benefit' analysis of external hip protectors in the nursing home setting states clearly that hip protectors represent not only a cost-saving intervention, but that hip protectors prolong lives and their use leads to 'life expectancy gains' in the elderly population destined to have a fracture. The authors recommend a preferential use of the soft-shell variety of hip protectors, because soft hip protectors are preferred for comfort and are likely to have improved adherence rates without compromise to biomechanical effectiveness. A Cost-Benefit Analysis of External Hip Protectors in the Nursing Home Setting. Lisa A Honkanen, Bruce R Schackman, Alvin I Mushlin, Mark S Lachs. Journal of American Geriatrics Society (JAGS), 2005; 53:190-197.
We welcome you to contact us for a discussion or to receive information on this very useful product! Alternatively - browse HipSaver Hip Protector pages in this section of our website! HipSaver Hip Protector - the Background HipSaver Hip Protector Benefits Summary Printable HipSaver Patient Leaflet with Order Form Printable HipSaver Interim and Activs Leaflet Printable Falls Mats Bedside Fall Out Mats Leaflet DermaSaver Printable Brochure with Case Studies, Pricing and Order Forms Printable HipSaver research: Hip Pads: Effective fracture prevention. George Gross, Tsan-Hui Chen, Carolyn Flaherty. (2000). Advance for Physical Therapists, 11(22), 45-46. In the UK, the RHINO Project - a 12 Months Hip Protector Study carried out in Dudley, West Midlands (project funded by the DTi Modernisation Grant) between July 2003 and June 2004 - also confirmed the superiority of the soft HipSavers over the hard shell Safehips. You can view the Rhino Project Final Report here! South West Kent Hip Protector Trial - read or print a summary of the Kent Hip Protectors Project! Read and print a Hip Protector Pilot Project Report completed in the Medway and Swale. Prevention of fall-induced hip fractures: Usability evaluation of hip protectors. K.R. Dunn, C.L. Brace, T. Masud, R.A. Haslam, R.O. Morris. Contemporary Ergonomics 2005 (edited by P.D. Bust and P.T. McCabe). Taylor and Francis, London. Ergonomics Society Conference, Hatfield, 6-8 April 2005, pp 464-468, ISBN 0415374480
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Hip protectors are designed to
protect the hip bones from the effects of a fall. Hip protector consists of
either of hard plastic shields or soft foam pads that are held in place over the hips by
specially designed garments - underwear or outer garments. In the event of a
fall, such external hip protector either diverts the force away,
absorbs it or provide a protection resulting from a combination of both the
shunting and the absorbing of the force. Such action reduces the magnitude of
the impact on the hip and can potentially prevent a fracture from occurring. 
However,
all hip protectors are not
the same! 
