Hip protectors

Thin women have less fat and soft tissue around the hips, and if they fall the full impact is transferred to the bone. Padding using materials that absorb the energy can significantly reduce the risk of hip fracture. These pads were originally tested in a Danish nursing home, and after one year the rate of hip fractures was half in the group assigned to the pads. None of the patients had a hip fracture while they were wearing the pads.

Another large study has also shown that hip protectors prevent fractures. This study was community-based and involved 1801 frail elderly patients. Those assigned to the hip protector group had half as many fractures. Of 1034 falls, only 4 hip fractures occured while patients were wearing the protectors. The brand of the hip protector used in this study was KPH Hip Protector, from Helsinki, Finland.

More recently there have been some studies that did not show as much protection using hip pads. Sometimes the poor results were because patients did not wear the pads. In other studies, hip pads did reduce hip fractures in frail patients. A review in 2007 found that hip protectors did not prevent fractures in persons who lived in the community, but the benefit for persons in nursing homes remained uncertain.

This is a photograph of the brand tested in the nursing home, called Safehip. These protectors are available, but they are not usually reimbursed by Medicare.

Updated 8/10/09