It’s easy to believe the marketing hype.
With all their pumps, sensors, and futuristic jargon, alternating pressure mattresses (APMs) promise to do the hard work for us, relieving pressure injuries just by lying down. One purchase, one plug-in, problem solved.
But here’s the clinical reality: No mattress can substitute for repositioning. Not even the $10,000+ ones. The latest International Guidelines for Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Injuries reaffirm this position.
Repositioning Isn’t Optional. It’s Lifesaving.
Pressure injuries, also called pressure ulcers or bedsores, occur when skin and underlying tissues are exposed to sustained, high pressure over time. It’s not just the pressure itself, it’s the accumulated exposure that does the real damage.
Think of it like leaning too long on the edge of a sharp bench. At first, it’s tolerable. But as time passes, the concentrated pressure builds up silently, causing stress deep in the tissue, often before you even feel it.
Research shows it’s the combination of peak pressure and time, not just reduced blood flow, that causes tissue breakdown (Gefen & Soppi, 2020). Once the damage begins, it can progress quickly and invisibly beneath the surface.
“No support surface can entirely replace repositioning.”
Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers/Injuries: Clinical Practice Guideline. The International Guideline: Fourth Edition. 2025.
The only proven way to stop that damage is to move by shifting weight, redistributing the load, and allowing oxygen to reach starved tissues.That message is echoed even more clearly in the 2025 guidelines, which state it is good practice to reposition individuals at risk, regardless of what type of support surface they’re on. A mattress might help share the load. But without regular movement, even the best surface is just a padded trap.
The Research Says It Loud and Clear:
A 2021 Cochrane overview of 68 studies on pressure injury prevention found that while support surfaces can help, most of the evidence is low or very low certainty, especially when repositioning is not standardised or implemented (Shi et al., 2021).
Another meta-review published in Advances in Skin & Wound Care confirmed that even advanced surfaces like APMs are insufficient when used alone, they must be paired with regular manual repositioning protocols to reduce injury risk (Boyko et al., 2018).In fact, some facilities using high-tech surfaces without repositioning still saw high rates of pressure injury (Beeckman et al., 2019). Why? Because the fundamental cause; immobility, hadn’t been addressed. The 2025 International Guidelines are clear that repositioning remains essential, regardless of the surface used. For individuals at risk, it is good practice to use an individualised repositioning regimen that offloads pressure points effectively and is adapted to the person’s mobility, clinical condition, comfort, and daily routines (Good Practice Statement R4). The guidelines also recommend that repositioning be carried out in a way that achieves optimal offloading and maximum redistribution of pressure (Good Practice Statement R2). Care teams are encouraged to work collaboratively with the individual and their carers to consider not only medical risk factors but also personal care goals, sleep quality, body symmetry, and comfort when developing a 24-hour repositioning plan.
Why We’re Tempted to Believe the Hype.
Clinicians are tired. Staffing is stretched. Aged care teams are under pressure (no pun intended). So, when a product promises to “replace the need for turning,” it’s understandably tempting.
But the risk is not just clinical, it’s ethical.
Relying on an air pump to do a nurse’s job, without oversight or backup, can leave patients and residents sitting in the same position for hours. The mattress cycles, but the person doesn’t shift, and is never fully offloaded. And the deeper tissue damage continues quietly, invisibly, until it’s too late.This isn’t just poor care. It’s a system-level failure.
LenexaCARE® empowers you.
Here’s what truly sets LenexaCARE® apart: it’s not a surface, it’s the intelligence layer that makes prevention personal, proactive, and accountable.
Traditional surfaces, whether air or foam, do the bare minimum. If you’re using a high-specification foam, switching to air rarely changes outcomes. In a study of over 2000 patients, air mattresses showed no significant advantage over foam mattresses (Nixon, 2019).
What matters is how effectively and consistently you reposition, and that’s only possible with real-time data and insight. That’s where LenexaCARE® comes in.
🔹 It enables individualised repositioning regimens
The 2025 Guidelines recommend tailoring repositioning intervals based on individual assessments, and LenexaCARE® makes this achievable. Using real-time pressure mapping and historical movement data, LenexaCARE® supports nurses in creating repositioning strategies tailored to each person’s clinical status, skin tolerance, comfort, mobility, and care goals.
🔹 It doesn’t guess, it knows
LenexaCARE® uses smart sensor technology to track exactly where pressure is building, over what time frame, and whether any natural shifts have occurred. You’re not flying blind.
🔹 It tells you when it’s time to act
Our intuitive dashboard gives nurses and carers live information on when repositioning is needed. This is not just based on an arbitrary schedule, but informed by the person’s real-time experience in the bed.
🔹 It respects your workload
LenexaCARE® doesn’t add more tasks, it replaces the guesswork. No more turning patients unnecessarily, or missing critical pressure zones.
🔹 It protects the resident and the care team
By providing objective data, it also serves as a clinical record of best-practice care, supporting documentation, reducing liability, and ensuring no one is left behind.
The Bottom Line
No matter how advanced your support surface is, pressure injuries will always be a risk if movement isn’t happening. That’s not a failure of the mattress. It’s a reminder that technology should support, not replace, care.
LenexaCARE® isn’t a mattress — it’s a discreet, sensor-enabled mattress cover that works with existing surfaces to transform repositioning into a data-driven, personalised practice. This is not a new bed; this is an investment in the future of care without compromising on patient comfort.
Because pressure injury prevention isn’t just about surfaces. It’s about people, timing, and action.
✅ Ready to see how LenexaCARE® fits easily into your workflow?
Book a demo with us today and discover how smart monitoring can enhance every shift, not just the mattress beneath it.
✅ Ready to see how LenexaCARE® fits easily into your workflow?
Book a demo with us today and discover how smart monitoring can enhance every shift, not just the mattress beneath it.
References
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). (2015). Pressure ulcers: prevention and management (Clinical guideline [CG179]). https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg179
National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel (NPIAP), European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP), & Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliance (PPPIA). (2019). Prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers/injuries: Clinical practice guideline. https://www.internationalguideline.com/
Nixon, J., Moore, Z., Cullum, N., Barnard, A., Nelson, E. A., Iglesias, C., … & Brown, S. (2019). Pressure relieving support surfaces for prevention of pressure ulcers: Clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness analysis. Health Technology Assessment, 23(52), 1–176. https://doi.org/10.3310/hta23520
