Use of Hip Protectors Among Key Strategies in New Fracture Prevention Guidelines

Medical Protection Technologies’ Next-Generation Fall-Safe®
Hip Protectors Provide High-Tech Option for Seniors and Long-Term Care
Facilities

FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Hip protectors were recently named among key fracture prevention
strategies in new guidelines
for long-term care, published in the Canadian Medical Association
Journal,
closely mirroring recommendations from the American Medical
Directors Association. A new generation of hip protectors from Medical
Protection Technologies provides a high-tech option to help prevent the
serious consequences of hip fracture in residents, including pain, loss
of mobility, and death.

Growing recognition about the problem of hip fractures in long-term
care—one third of older adults who experience hip fracture are long-term
care residents—has led to an increased need for fracture prevention
protocols. The new guidelines were developed based on a rigorous process
that considered the quality of available evidence, the balance between
benefits and harms, and the preferences of residents and their care
providers. Recommendations to mitigate the risk of a life-altering
fracture include increased calcium and vitamin D, the use of hip
protectors, exercise, and pharmacologic therapies.

Hip protectors provide a cost-effective tool to help reduce the risk of
hip fracture. However, the implementation of hip protectors has been
challenged by complaints of wearing discomfort, along with concerns
about personal appearance. In addition, hip protector design, mechanical
properties, and effectiveness vary significantly, and most exhibit a
decline in efficacy following repeated impact, which can result in the
need for frequent replacement.

Recent advances in the molecular engineering of shock absorption
materials, spurred by a growing demand for flexible, lightweight,
low-profile yet armor-like protection, have led to a new generation of
hip protectors featuring pads made from the patented shock-absorbing
material D3O®,
which has been successfully used in the sports, military, law
enforcement, and consumer products industries.

Soft, flexible, and pliable in its natural state, D3O becomes instantly
rigid at the moment of impact, only to immediately relax once the energy
of the impact dissipates. As a result, this next generation of hip
protectors comes closer than ever to the ideal wearable protective
device—comfortable and unnoticeable in everyday use, yet providing
maximum impact protection whenever and wherever needed.

D. Stephen Robins, M.D., co-founder and medical director of Medical
Protection Technologies, said, “The incorporation of D3O technology into
Fall-Safe Hip Protectors promises to significantly decrease the
challenge of wearer non-compliance, resulting in a win-win for those at
risk, as well as long-term care providers, not only in terms of improved
preventative care but also in the potential for cost savings and
enhanced risk management practices. The development of the new
guidelines reinforces the importance of fracture prevention in long-term
care.”

About Medical Protection Technologies

Medical
Protection Technologies
, based in Friday Harbor, Wash., is the North
American provider of medical device products made from the unique
shock-absorbing material D3O®.
Its Fall-Safe®
Hip Protectors
offer the ideal combination of high impact
protection, durability, affordability, and wearing comfort—even when
sleeping—thereby enhancing compliance with hip protection protocols. As
a result, they offer significant fracture-prevention and cost-saving
potential for both at-home and institutional use. Learn more at www.medprotech.com.
Follow us on Twitter @MedProTech
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Contacts

Medical Protection Technologies
Barbara Sullivan, 714-374–6174
bjs@medprotech.com

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