A Swedish study has shown that impact-absorbing flooring can help prevent injuries from falls inside nursing homes, according to an article on the McKnights website.
In a study published in the journal ,Injury Prevention, the researchers said the flooring can reduce injury rates by 59 percent. The scientists performed their study in a Swedish nursing home from October 2011 through March 2014 by observing and recording falls in apartments, a communal dining-room and parts of the corridor.
The injury/fall rate was 30.3 percent for falls on regular flooring and 16.9 percent for falls on impact absorbing flooring.
Falls were more common in the absorbent-flooring areas, but the absorbent tiles reduce the force of an impact by 65 percent to 85 percent.
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