Testing Sacral Dressings that Reduce Shear to Prevent Pressure Injuries in Bed Patients

What is it about?

Pressure injuries (also called bedsores) often occur in patients who spend long periods in bed. These injuries are caused not only by pressure but also by shear forces—sideways forces that damage skin and tissue. Hospitals use special foam dressings on the lower back (sacral area) to help prevent these injuries, but their ability to reduce shear forces hasn’t been well understood. This study tested three commonly used sacral dressings in a lab setting to see how well they reduce shear forces compared to having no dressing. Using a custom-built test rig that mimics the skin–bedsheet interface, we measured how much shear force reached the skin under clinically relevant pressures. All dressings significantly reduced shear compared to no dressing, but performance varied between designs. The results show that dressing compression—not thickness—is key to reducing shear. These findings support the use of sacral dressings as part of pressure injury prevention and highlight design features that improve performance.

Featured Image

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Pressure injuries (bedsores) are a serious problem for patients who spend long periods in bed, costing billions in treatment and causing thousands of deaths each year. These injuries are not only caused by pressure but also by shear forces—sideways stresses that damage skin and tissue. Our study tested three commonly used sacral dressings in a lab setting to see how well they reduce shear compared to having no dressing. All dressings significantly lowered shear forces, but performance varied by design. We found that dressing compression, rather than thickness, is key to reducing shear. These insights support the use of sacral dressings in clinical practice and can guide the development of more effective products to prevent pressure injuries.

Perspectives