If your institution is considering a hip protection program, we invite you to conduct your own industry comparison:

Ask each supplier for published clinical studies on their specific product. If they have no studies, they have no proof that their product works and have not earned your business. Published independent product evaluations have shown a wide range of biomechanical effectiveness and laundering durability of hip protectors on the market.

Be suspicious of testing performed by commercial test companies and paid for by the manufacturer. HipSaver® has been on the market for over 20 years and has three independent published clinical studies (available at hipsaver.com). These studies, taken together, show an average compliance of 82% and a 90% effectiveness in reducing the chance of a hip fracture.

Obtain multiple FREE samples from each supplier, including HipSaver. If a supplier will not supply free samples, they may be afraid that you are a discerning customer who will not be fooled by their low quality product.

Try them on patients for fit and comfort. Insure that the pad is large enough and covers the trochanter when worn. Feel the pad to insure that it is not too rigid and has tapered edges. These issues relate to skin integrity.

Run them through your institution laundry for 50 cycles. Then, with a scissor, cut pads out of the garment. If there is any cracking of the pad, the product has a defective design.

When you have completed your comparison, you, like most other health care professionals will see HipSaver® as the obvious choice.You can contact Ed Goodwin at 800-358-4477 about choosing the best hip protector.