A restraint is any device that limits a person's ability to move around or reach a part of his or her body.
Restraints can be physical devices or medication.
Medication can also be used to slow or impair movement. Drugs are called chemical restraints when they are used for discipline or staff convenience or do not treat a medical problem. The most common use of restraints has been to protect people in health care facilities from injury, such as preventing them from falling out of bed or a wheelchair. Also, health care workers in hospitals and nursing homes thought it took less time to care for a person who was restrained than to take other steps to keep people from injury. In addition, they feared the facilities would be sued if they did not keep patients or residents from falling.