Can pressure sores be prevented?

The technique of dimensional analysis is applied to the study of allowable or safe external pressures and the effects of external loading on skin blood flow. These results and those of blood studies in able-bodied subjects and in spinal-cord-injured patients with and without problems of recurrent pressure sores are considered from the standpoint of preventing the occurrence of sores. The results indicate the possibility that sores might be avoided either be redesigning mattresses and seating systems, or by treating the subject to make the blood rheology or other physiological parameters more tolerant of existing pressures