Pads Prevent Broken Bones FARM HOME Health When Frank Bowles invented a padding system to prevent broken hips and other severe injuries he was thinking about ways to protect fragile older senior citizens So he was pretty surprised when a 75-year-old man who breaks horses and mules for a living called to place an order for his HTK Hip Tailbone Knee Pads     Though some senior citizens may be reluctant to wear his patent-pending HTK Pad in public inventor Bowles is OK with that because 90 percent of falls occur at home About a third of the 60 million people 65 and older have 1 to 3 falls every year More than 300 000 are admitted to the hospital for hip fractures which ends up being fatal for about 60 000 people     Bowles knows those numbers because he is on the board of a large hospital in the Dallas/Ft Worth area When he learned about the problem of people falling in hospitals and other care facilities he decided to focus on that As owner of a construction business he is adept at solving problems     His first prototype was cut from his wife’s exercise mat But like other padding systems he discovered in his research it was not firm enough to protect the hip bone He tried various materials and ended up with a concave design made of firm rubber that distributes impact away from the hipbone Besides protecting the hip bone Bowles added double thick neoprene rubber pads to protect the tailbone and knees The neoprene is the same that is used in wet suits and is anti-microbial and can be washed The HTK pad weighs 5 lbs and is secured with a buckle at the waist and Velcro at the knees It comes in seven sizes based on 22 to 44-in waist measurements Prices range from $389 to $409     “My goal when I first thought of this was to make it affordable as most seniors are on fixed incomes ” Bowles says     Having just introduced the padding at the end of 2019 he’s been pleased with the response so far The pads will be tested at the hospital where he is a board member and ski schools are interested in them     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup HTK Pad 18484 Preston Rd Suite 120-340; Dallas Texas 75252 ph 469 954-6000

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