A fit 68-year-old friend recently tripped over a laundry basket and broke her hip. She needed a replacement hip installed (at nearly 4X what it would have cost in France or the UK; see also nytimes for price comparison) and then a couple of months of rehab. This led me to wonder “Why don’t all of us wear hip pads all the time?”
A study from 2007 found that there was no benefit to simple pads (see also ABC News article: many fractures don’t even occur as a result of impact but from the unnatural rotation of the hip in a fall. “Fractures often occur prior to impact,” [the doctor] said.).
ActiveProtective is a company that has a great TED talk, but it doesn’t seem as though their airbag-based hip protector is available.
Will exoskeletons to improve stability be available before reliable protections against the consequences of falling are?
I’m sure this will result in the passage of Massachusetts’ Mandatory Hip Pad legislation in 2021 or so. Meanwhile, New Hampshire will change its motto to “Live Free or Break Your Hip”.
If you are over 70, install grab bars in your bath and stabilize thyself before donning trousers. It’s cheaper than insurance, much less medical bills. The gyros seem to get wobbly in old age.