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Camilla, I've been meaning to post this information to the lists also -- I'm glad you reminded me. I had read about the hip protectors on another listserv, and located a website that offers them. I phoned the company, and explained that it might be useful for people with PD who experience falls. However, I also mentioned that it can be very difficult for someone with PD to dress, and wondered if such a garment might be problematic to put on and remove. They very kindly sent me a sample of the fabric, and it is stretchy but not tight. I think it might be very beneficial for many people who fall, in terms of helping to prevent fractures. For more information, you might try the website: http://www.hipsavers.com/ Best regards, Kathrynne Camilla Flintermann wrote: > > Friends-- in yesterday's paper there is a report of some research in > Finland that "offers proof that > wearing external hip protectors can prevent as many as 80% of hip > fractures suffered by the elderly." > The New England Journal of Medicine published the study 11/23/00, and > called it a breakthrough in fracture prevention, and notes how serious > these can be. The protectors tested in Finland "resembled frisbee-like > discs, that were inserted into the hip pockets of a pair of stretchy > bicycle shorts,were anatomically designed, with hard but lightweight > surface with padding on the inside where it touches the body". > > In view of the many falls PWPs can have, I wondered if any had tried these, > or if we have a member of PIEN in Finland who knows about them? (No Finns > on CARE, as yet.) > > Camilla Flintermann, CG for Peter 82/70/55 > Oxford, Ohio > <[log in to unmask]> > > on the web at http://members.tripod.lycos.nl/genugten/flinterm.htm > and also at http://www.geocities.com/camillahf/index.html > > "Ask me about the CARE list for Caregivers of Parkinsonians ! " > And visit the CARE webring at > http://www.crosswinds.net/~caregivers/index.html -- Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD Author: "Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease" "Constipation and Parkinson's" -- audiocassette & guidebook "Guidelines for Medical Nutrition Therapy for Parkinson's disease" & Risk Assessment Tools "Risk for malnutrition and bone fracture in Parkinson's disease," J Nutr Elderly. V18:3;1999. http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/