The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimated in 1992 that improper use of restraints results in at least 100 deaths each year, most by strangulation.

[3] Medical restraints in psychiatric hospitals in Japan are sometimes kept on patients for weeks and months,[4] and they are thought to have caused several deaths due to deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

However, with the passing of SB-130, which became law in 2004, the use of psychiatric restraint(s) is no longer viewed as a treatment, but can be used as a behavioral intervention when an individual is in imminent danger of serious harm to self or others.

A non-inclusive list: Throughout the last decade or so, there has been an increasing amount of evidence and literature supporting the idea of a restraint free environment due to their contradictory and dangerous effects.

[16] This is due to the adverse outcomes associated with restraint use, which include: falls and injuries, incontinence, circulation impairment, agitation, social isolation, and even death.

[19][20][21] In a systematic review in 2020:"Estimation of post-traumatic stress disorder incidence after intervention varies from 25% to 47% and, thus, is not negligible, especially for patients with past traumatic experiences.

According to a survey conducted on 689 patients in 11 psychiatric hospitals in Japan, the average time spent in physical restraints is 96 days.

As a result, the Japanese Ministry of health has revised its guidelines for elderly people in nursing homes to have more restrictions against body restraints.

[27] In June 2013 the UK government announced that it was considering a ban on the use of face-down restraint in English mental health hospitals.

YoungMinds and Agenda claim restraints are "frightening and humiliating" and "re-traumatises" patients especially women and girls who have previously been survivors of physical or sexual abuse.

According to the letter over half of women with psychiatric problems have suffered abuse, restraint can cause physical harm, frighten and humiliate the victim.

"Mental health units are meant to be caring, therapeutic environments, for people feeling at their most vulnerable, not places where physical force is routine."

[31]" Given the lack of evidence for the effectiveness and the potential harms associated with the use of physical restraints in many settings, efforts to safely decrease their use may be justified.

[32] For older people who are hospitalized, approaches to reduce or eliminate physical restraints such as the use of bedrails, belts in chairs, and fixed tables may include pressure sensor bed or chair alarms, however there is no strong evidence that these types of prevention approaches are effective at decreasing reliance on physical restraints.