Hip protection device for the elderly

A hip protection device which provides protection to the trochanteric region of the body of a wearer and which may be worn comfortably over extended periods, said hip protective device comprising:

• a garment adapted to encircle the wearer and extending from an upper end in proximity with the iliac crest of the wearer to a lower end in proximity with the thigh region of the wearer;
• the garment having elastic means disposed therein for elastically engaging with the wearer in proximity with the upper and lower ends of the garment to support the garment in a substantially stationary position on the wearer;
• at least two protective pads adapted to be accommodated at the trochanteric regions of the body of the wearer, wherein each protective pad has an overall thickness of less than about 0.75 inches;
• the garment and protective pads having engagement means for engagement of the protective pads to the garment at the trochanteric regions of the body of the wearer when the garment is on the wearer;
• the protective pads defining an open-ended channel and having an elongated major axis and a minor axis, with the protective pads being substantially linear along the elongated major axis of the protective pads and having a generally parabolic curvature along the minor axis of the protective pads corresponding to the anteroposterior contour of the hip region of the wearer, with the curvature defining convex and concave sides of the protective pads, and the curvature of the protective pads allowing substantially the entire concave side of the protective pads to reside directly adjacent the wearer during use;
• each protective pad comprising a force distributing shield of non-resilient material defining the convex side of the protective pad, with at least one layer of resilient impact absorbing material adhered to the concave side of the force distributing shield;
• and
• each protective pad being engaged by one of the pad engaging means of the garment, with the force distributing shield side of the protective pad facing outwardly and the concave side of the protective pad being substantially flush against the hip region of the wearer with the parabolic curvature of the protective pad extending in an anteroposterior direction, the resilient impact absorbing material having sufficient resilience and thickness whereby upon impact to the trochanteric region of the wearer, the force of the impact is distributed over the surface area of the shield and is absorbed by the layer of impact absorbing material to the extent that at least approximately 90 percent of the impact force per square inch is dissipated to protect the trochanteric region.

A hip protection pad for residing within a pocket of a garment and being positioned at the trochanteric region of a wearer, when the garment is worn, to provide protection to the trochanteric region of the wearer, the hip protection pad comprising:

• a force distributing shield of non-resilient material having a thickness of about 0.093 to 0.125 inches;
• the force distributing shield defining an open-ended channel having a generally elongated major axis and a parabolic minor axis, and being substantially linear along the generally elongated major axis of the shield, and having a generally curvature along the minor axis of the shield corresponding to the anteroposterior contour of the hip region of the wearer, the generally parabolic curvature defining convex and concave sides of the shield;
• a layer of resilient impact absorbing material adhered to the concave side of the shield and having a thickness of about 0.3 to 0.5 inches;
• the protection pad being receivable in the pocket with the shield facing outward and the generally parabolic curvature extending in an anteroposterior direction and the protective pad having an overall thickness of less than about 0.75 inches, whereby upon localized impact to the protective pad, the localized impact force is distributed over the surface area of the shield and is absorbed by the layer of impact absorbing material to the extent that at least about 90 percent of the impact force per square inch is dissipated to provide protection to the trochanteric region of the wearer.

A hip protection device for a person with incontinence which provides protection to the trochanteric region of the body of the person and provides absorption of bodily waste, the hip protective device comprising:

• a garment adapted to encircle the person, extending from an upper hip engaging portion in proximity with the iliac crest of the person to a lower thigh engaging portion in proximity with the thigh region of the person;
• the garment having elastic means disposed therein for elastically engaging with the person in proximity with the upper and lower portions of the garment to support the garment in a substantially stationary position on the person;
• at least two protective pads adapted to be accommodated at the trochanteric regions of the person when wearing the garment;
• each protective pad defining an open-ended channel and having an elongated major axis and a minor axis, with the protective pad being substantially linear along the elongated major axis of the protective pad and having a generally parabolic curvature along the minor axis of the protective pad corresponding to the anteroposterior contour of the hip region of the wearer, with the curvature defining convex and concave sides of the protective pad, and the curvature of the protective pad allowing substantially the entire concave side of the pad to reside directly adjacent the person when the garment is worn;
• each protective pad comprising a force distributing shield of non-resilient material defining the convex side of the protective pad, and at least one layer of resilient impact absorbing material adhered to the concave side of the force distributing shield;
• wherein each protective pad has an overall thickness of less than about 0.75 inches;
• attachment means for attaching each protective pad with the garment at respective positions corresponding to the trochanteric regions of the person with the force distributing shield side thereof facing outward and the concave side of the pad being substantially flush against the trochanteric region of the person, the resilient impact absorbing material having sufficient resilience and thickness whereby upon impact to the trochanteric region of the wearer, the force of the impact is distributed over the surface area of the shield and is absorbed by the layer of impact absorbing material to the extent that at least approximately 90 percent of the impact force per square inch is dissipated to protect the trochanteric regions of the wearer;
• the hip engaging portion of the garment having a front end and rear end;
• an elongated strip of moisture absorbing material having opposite ends, with garment engaging means adjacent to each of the ends;
• and
• the front and rear ends of the hip engaging portion of the garment each having diaper engaging means;
• the strip of moisture absorbing material being engageable with the garment by engagement of the garment engaging means of the strip of moisture absorbing material with the diaper engaging means of the garment.