(March 26, 2008)--Fewer nursing home patients are being kept in restraints.
The federal government, states and the nursing home industry are working at reducing what once was common.
The use of physical restraints is down 40 percent in recent years.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reports that numbers vary by state.
Restraints were found in 2006 to be most frequently used in California, with the least in Iowa, Kansas and Maine.
It's illegal to put patients in restraints for discipline.
They can only be used for medical reasons, such as preventing a resident from tearing out an IV.
Experts had thought restraints were useful to a patient's safety, such as preventing them from falling.
But new techniques are being introduced, such as low-level beds and more exercise to prevent injuries.
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