Protecting your body's fine china
Hip protectors—pads that people wear over their hips—aren't doing a very good job of what they were designed to do.
And that can be deadly for elderly folks who take a spill. In fact, one in four people who suffer a hip fracture die within a year.
There are two types of hip protectors available: One that directs the energy of a fall away from the hip and one that absorbs the impact. Looking at the impact-absorbing hip protector pads, researchers concluded that they won't prevent hip fractures.
The group tested the pads by having each of more than 1,000 participants from 37 nursing homes wear a protector on just one hip. The study participants averaged 85 years in age, and over 79 percent of them were women. The study followed each person for an average of eight months.
Each member of the study group wore specially designed underwear that included the hip protector for just the one side. (The success rate for having the hip protector actually stay where it was supposed to was about 74 percent.)
The research team found that there was no statistically significant difference in the rate of hip fractures between the protected side and the other one. On the protected hip, the fracture rate was 3.1 percent, and on the unprotected side, it was 2.5 percent—not considered a large enough difference. For volunteers who experienced a higher rate of their pads adhering to their hips—there was also no large protection factor. Their hip-fracture rates ran at 5.3 percent for the protected hip and 3.5 percent on the unprotected side.
Hipbones don't necessarily work like your best china. Sure, you wrap your dishware before you move and hope for the best. As you've probably experienced—all it takes to break something is its falling just so.
The same idea applies to your hips. When you start to fall, your hip has already performed an unnatural maneuver. The impact itself is usually secondary, as the damage generally has already been done.
But don't think this study means you should chuck it all and reach for one of the bone drugs you see on just about every other TV commercial.
As you've heard me talk about before, and will see in this month's Health Revelations, the best way to protect your bones is to prevent a fall from happening in the first place. And the best way to do that is by building your muscle strength.
Strong muscles equal better control over your movements. Plain and simple. I tell my patients they should work with a personal trainer to start and learn how to perform the exercises correctly. It could be the best money you've ever spent—and prevent you from becoming a hip-fracture statistic.
