When we think about the reasons why one may fall out of our bed, we tend to assume that this happens while a person is asleep. But when you think about it, all of us are trained from an early age to not roll out of the bed at night. This is reinforced every time we go to bed. When was the last time that you rolled off the edge of the bed while you were asleep?
And as family members age, we need to avoid injuries and hospitalization by preventing falls (whether that be from a bed, chair or while walking). Unfortunately, many mattress manufacturers have incorrectly addressed the fall issue, because they fully don’t understood why people are falling.
Why People Fall Out Of Bed
As one becomes older, there is a chance they may fall while asleep. But most of the time, falls occur when a family member is awake and consciously trying to get out of the bed. This can be made worse if a person is frail or unwell, when they try to get out by themselves or when it is dark and disorienting. Often, they need to get to the bathroom quickly and assistance is not available. Sometimes, the person is just plain uncomfortable and they want to get out of bed! This is what can increase our fall risk. Do you picture yourself or your loved one in this scenario?
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, there are approximately 1.6 million annual falls, with more than one third of those resulting in injury. If you ask any Occupational or Physical Therapist about gaining your standing balance when exiting the bed, they will tell you that you first need to have established your sitting balance—whether you are using a walking frame or not, and whether you are being assisted or not.
Designing A Mattress To Help Prevent Falls
Many consumer mattresses are too soft to be safe and supportive when sitting on the edge. At Immersus, we took this problem to the drawing board when we designed the Immersus Mattress”. By incorporating transfer safety edges into the mattress design, users can safely sit up and get their sitting balance before trying to stand. These safety edges are a 3-inch wide firm (but not raised) foam rail which provides stability when sitting on the edge of a bed.
Proving Our Mattresses Help Prevent Falls
We then set to prove that the edges and overall mattress design would achieve our goal of preventing falls through a multi-patient clinical study. In the study, some patients were noted to be frequent fallers while others were identified to have a high risk of repeated falls.
Mattress users ranked the pre-trial and trial surface performance for overall comfort, immersion, support while sitting without bottoming out (also known as hammocking), ease and safety of entry and exit from the bed, and protection of the delicate skin on the ankle and heel.
Study group members were mobility and/or activity impaired and many had positioning problems such as leaning & slumping on their current mattress.
24 participants were men and 20 were women with an average age of 79 years-old (ages ranged from 47-98 years-old). The average study time was 53 days. Compared to pre-study mattresses which included foam and air products, no falls occurred during the course of the study.
Now more than ever, help cannot always be on hand to aid with getting out of bed. But by choosing a proven product such as the Immersus Mattress, you can create some peace of mind with simply buy purchasing a mattress specifically designed for aging adults.
For more information about the Immersus Mattress and other devices that can help you to be safe in your home, contact us now at 855-994-4325.
