When a Senior With Dementia Gets Out of Bed: Can a Safer Floor Reduce the Risk of Serious Fall Injuries?

You've probably been through this.

It's 2am. You hear movement. You rush in — and your loved one is already standing beside the bed, unsteady, confused about where they are.

You've told them many times: "Please don't get up alone. Call me and I'll help you."

But dementia doesn't work that way. The instruction isn't remembered. The risk isn't recognised. And by the time you reach them, the fall may already have happened.

If this is your reality — as a family caregiver, a nurse, or a care facility team — you know that preventing every fall is simply not possible. The question becomes: what can we do to make a fall less catastrophic when it happens?

The Stakes Are High

Falls are the leading cause of serious injury among older adults. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 1 in 4 adults aged 65 and above falls each year — over 14 million people annually — resulting in approximately 3 million emergency-department visits and 1 million hospitalisations.

Hip fractures are among the most devastating outcomes: nearly 319,000 older adults are hospitalised for hip fractures each year, with falls responsible for 88% of those cases. Recovery is long, painful and uncertain — and for many older adults, a hip fracture marks a permanent turning point in their independence.

Falling once also doubles the risk of falling again.

As a caregiver, these are not just statistics. They are outcomes you work every day to prevent.

Why Dementia Changes Everything

Standard fall prevention advice assumes the person can remember and follow instructions. With dementia, that assumption breaks down.

A person with dementia may be physically unable to walk safely — yet genuinely believe, in that moment, that they can. They may not recall the last fall. They may not understand why a caregiver keeps asking them to wait.

Even with a bed-exit sensor in place, there is always a gap between the alert and your arrival. That gap — sometimes just 20 or 30 seconds — is when many serious falls happen.

You cannot be everywhere at once. That is not a failure of care. It is the reality of caring for someone with dementia.

So the question shifts: if we cannot always stop the fall, can we change what the floor does when they land?

What If the Floor Was Part of Your Safety Plan?

Japan's Koroyawa® shock-absorbing flooring, developed by Magic Shields, was designed with exactly this caregiver reality in mind.

The concept is simple:

Firm when your loved one walks on it. Shock-absorbing when they fall.

It doesn't replace your care. It works alongside it — filling the gap that no caregiver, however attentive, can always close.

How Can One Surface Be Both Stable and Soft?

This is the question caregivers ask most often — and it's a fair one.

A permanently soft mat creates its own hazard. Older adults need a stable surface to walk on. So do wheelchairs, walking frames and care beds. A spongy floor increases the risk of stumbling during normal movement.

Koroyawa® solves this using a variable-stiffness mechanical metamaterial structure — an internal architecture that responds differently depending on the force applied:

Walking, canes, walking frames, wheelchairs, care beds → surface stays stable, just like a normal floor

A sudden fall → the internal structure compresses, absorbing the impact

In practice, this means your loved one or resident can move normally throughout the day — while the mat quietly provides protection if the worst happens.

Does It Actually Reduce Injury Risk?

According to research by Magic Shields, Koroyawa® demonstrated approximately twice the impact-absorbing performance of conventional flooring, reducing fall impact to roughly half that of a standard floor. Test results also fell below 221 kgf — the reference threshold associated with femoral fracture risk in older adults.

The underlying technology has also been studied academically, examining both shock-absorbing performance and effects on walking and balance during normal use — because a protective floor must not create new risks for the very people it is meant to protect.

Where Should You Place It?

As a caregiver, you already know the highest-risk moments: the middle of the night, when your loved one tries to stand without waking you. The gap between a bed-exit alarm and you reaching the room.

Beside the bed is the single most important placement — the area where an unassisted attempt to stand is most likely to end in a fall.

Other high-priority areas include frequently used walking routes and transfer zones — anywhere a fall is most likely to happen.

There is no installation required. Place the mat. That's it.

The mat's edge profile is also designed to sit flush with the surrounding floor, minimising any trip hazard at the border.

Trusted in Over 1,600 Care Facilities in Japan

Koroyawa® is not a new concept being tested — it is already in active use across real care environments.

As of April 2026, Koroyawa® had been adopted in more than 1,600 medical institutions and welfare facilities in Japan, including hospitals, rehabilitation centres and dementia-care organisations.

That adoption reflects a shift that many experienced caregivers already understand: the goal is not only "How do we stop every fall?" — it is also "How do we protect the person when a fall cannot be stopped?"

Part of a Layered Approach to Care

Koroyawa® does not replace any part of the care you already provide. Think of it as one more layer in a safety plan that might include:

Prevent — strength and balance programmes, medication reviews, removing environmental hazards

Support — appropriate walking aids, handrails, good lighting and caregiver assistance

Detect — bed-exit sensors and monitoring systems to alert you early

Protect — impact-absorbing flooring to reduce injury severity if a fall still occurs

The mat fills the final layer — the one that activates when everything else wasn't enough.

An Honest Limitation

No mat can guarantee that a fracture will never happen. The direction of a fall, bone density, surrounding furniture and the person's overall condition all affect the outcome.

Koroyawa® is designed to reduce fall impact and the risk of fall-related injury — not to eliminate all risk. Professional fall-risk assessments remain essential for anyone at high risk.

Caring Without Confining

One of the hardest tensions in dementia care is this: the person you care for deserves both safety and dignity. Locking down every movement protects against falls — but it can strip away independence, confidence and quality of life.

You cannot always stop them from standing. You cannot guarantee you will reach them in time. But you can change what the floor does when they fall — and that changes what a fall means for their future.

That is the idea behind Koroyawa®: not to confine, but to protect. Not to replace your care, but to make the environment itself part of it.

Firm enough to walk on. Stable enough for wheelchairs and walking aids. Designed to absorb the impact of a fall.

Towards Fewer Life-Changing Falls

Falls will not be eliminated by any single product. But every layer of protection matters — and for caregivers working with seniors at high risk, having the floor on your side is one more tool in a demanding job.

Koroyawa® contributes one clear idea:

Try to prevent the fall. But when a fall still happens — make the landing safer.

Because for the people in your care, a fall should not have to become a life-changing fracture.

🏥 Free Product Demo & Trial for Hospitals and Nursing Homes

We understand that care facilities need to see Koroyawa® in action before making a commitment. That's why we offer a free product demonstration and trial placement for hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centres and dementia-care facilities in Malaysia.

Let your team and residents experience the difference firsthand — no obligation, no pressure.

📞 Contact us to arrange your free demo for hospitals and nursing homes:
+60 12-202 5953 (call or WhatsApp)

We're here to help you make the right decision for the people in your care.

Sources: CDC Fall Data Overview | CDC Fall Injuries Among Older Adults | Magic Shields product research documentation