When people fall they tend to fall on their side. This can lead to them breaking their
femur particularly at the head around the trochantheric region. The head of the
femur includes a portion called the
greater trochanter which projects outwards and which is covered by very little
flesh. A pad for use in protecting trochantheric region of the body comprises at least two separate
layers, a substantially rigid layer, and a layer of dense, closed-
cell resilient foam material. The substantially rigid layer includes a protecting boss which, in use, is located in the region of the
greater trochanter to increase the spacing between the outside of the rigid layer and the
greater trochanter. Preferably, the layer of closed-
cell foam material extends over a greater area than the substantially rigid layer so that the periphery of the rigid layer lies entirely within the periphery of the foam layer.