Claims
- 1. An apparatus for effecting traction on a spinal column of a patient, said apparatus comprising:
- a vessel containing liquid at a level sufficient to float at least one patient therein;
- a floatation device to be engaged with a portion of the body of a patient for creating a buoyant force for buoyantly supporting the patient in the liquid contained in said vessel; and
- means for varying the level of liquid within said vessel by alternately displacing and replacing a volume of liquid within said vessel to alternately raise and lower the mean level of the liquid within said vessel by an amount corresponding to the volume of liquid displaced and replaced so as to effect variations of a traction force exerted on the patient's body by the buoyant force created by said floatation device and a second force acting in a direction opposite to the direction of said buoyant force as said floatation device responds to variations in the level of the liquid within said vessel by seeking new buoyant equilibrium positions within the liquid for each variation in the level of the liquid within said vessel.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a body-tensioning device constructed and arranged to be attached to one or more portions of the patient's body and to create the second force on the patient's body having a component acting in a direction opposite to the buoyant force created by said floatation device.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said body-tensioning device comprises one or more weight elements attached externally to one or more portions of the patients body, the one or more weight elements pulling on the patient's body in directions opposite to the buoyant force created by said floatation device, and wherein the variations of the traction force are created by inertial forces of said one or more weight elements generated as said floatation device and the patient supported thereby rise and fall with the level of the liquid within said vessel while seeking new buoyant equilibrium positions and the one or more weight elements change from a state of rest to a state of motion and back to a state of rest.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said body-tensioning device comprises a body-securing harness attached to a portion of the body of the patient and constructed and arranged to resist upward movement of said floatation device and the patient within said vessel, and wherein the variations of the traction force are created by raising the level of the liquid within said vessel from a first level to a higher, second level after said body-securing harness is attached to the body of the patient and the buoyant force created by said floatation device increases as said floatation device seeks a new buoyant equilibrium position at said second level against resistance to upward movement provided by said body-securing harness.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said floatation device comprises an annulus, constructed and arranged to be worn around the chest of a patient under the patient's arms.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said floatation device comprises a neck collar, constructed and arranged to be worn around the neck of a patient.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said one or more weight elements is/are selected from the group consisting of a weighted hip belt constructed and arranged to be worn around the hips of a patient, a weighted thigh cuff constructed and arranged to be worn around a thigh of a patient, a weighted calf cuff constructed and arranged to be worn around a calf of a patient, a weighted ankle cuff constructed and arranged to be worn around an ankle of a patient, a weighted sandal constructed and arranged to be worn on a foot of a patient, and a weighted shoulder harness constructed and arranged to be worn over the shoulders of a patient.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said body-securing harness comprises a hip belt worn about the hips of a patient and secured to said vessel.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said body-securing harness further comprises tethers for securing said hip belt to said vessel.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said body-securing harness further comprises a rigid patient-securing structure secured to said vessel, said hip belt being secured to said rigid patient-securing structure.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for varying the level of liquid within said vessel comprises a plunger device including: a drum, a drum actuating mechanism constructed and arranged to selectively move said drum between an unsubmerged position in which said drum is not submerged in the liquid within said vessel and a submerged position in which said drum is at least partially submerged in the liquid within said vessel, wherein submersion of said drum into the liquid raises the level of the liquid within said vessel by an amount corresponding to a volume of liquid displaced by said drum.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for varying the level of liquid within said vessel comprises a liquid-displacing piston assembly including: a cylinder that is in fluid flow communication with said vessel and a piston movably mounted within said cylinder, wherein movement of said piston within said cylinder in a first direction draws a volume of liquid from said vessel into said cylinder to lower the level of the liquid within said vessel by an amount corresponding to the volume of liquid drawn into said cylinder, and movement of said piston within said cylinder in a second direction expels a volume of liquid from said cylinder into said vessel to raise the level of the liquid within said vessel by an amount corresponding to the volume of liquid expelled from said cylinder.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for varying the level of liquid within said vessel comprises a fluid bladder secured within said vessel and a pumping apparatus for pumping fluid into said fluid bladder, wherein fluid is selectively forced into said bladder by said pumping apparatus to increase the volume of said fluid bladder and thereby raise the level of the liquid within said vessel by an amount corresponding to the increase in volume of said fluid bladder, and fluid is released from said bladder to decrease the volume of said bladder to lower the level of fluid within said vessel by an amount corresponding to the decrease in volume of said fluid bladder.
- 14. A method for effecting traction on a spinal column of a patient, said method comprising:
- placing the patient in a vessel containing liquid at a level sufficient to float at least one patient therein;
- engaging a floatation device with a portion of the body of the patient for creating a buoyant force for buoyantly supporting the patient in the liquid contained in the vessel;
- applying a body-tensioning force to one or more portions of the patient's body, the body-tensioning force having a component acting in a direction opposite to the buoyant force created by the floatation device; and
- raising and lowering the mean level of the liquid within the vessel so as to effect variations of the body-tensioning force exerted on the patient's body as the floatation device responds to variations in the level of the liquid within the vessel by seeking new buoyant equilibrium positions within the liquid for each variation in the level of the liquid within the vessel.
- 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the liquid within the vessel is maintained at a temperature of 95-98 deg. F.
- 16. The method of claim 14, wherein the floatation device engaged with a portion of the body of the patient comprises an annulus worn around the chest of a patient under the patient's arms.
- 17. The method of claim 14, wherein the floatation device engaged with a portion of the body of the patient comprises a neck collar worn around the neck of a patient.
- 18. The method of claim 14, wherein the body-tensioning force is applied with a body-tensioning device, attached to one or more portions of the patient's body, which creates a force on the patient's body having a component acting in a direction opposite to the buoyant force created by the floatation device.
- 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the body-tensioning device comprises one or more weight elements attached externally to one or more portions of the patients body, the one or more weight elements pulling on the patient's body in directions opposite to the buoyant force created by the floatation device, and wherein the variations of the body-tensioning force are created by inertial forces of the one or more weight elements generated as the floatation device and the patient supported thereby rise and fall with the level of the liquid within the vessel while seeking new buoyant equilibrium positions and the one or more weight elements change from a state of rest to a state of motion and back to a state of rest.
- 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the one or more weight elements is/are selected from the group consisting of a weighted hip belt worn around the hips of a patient, a weighted thigh cuff worn around a thigh of a patient, a weighted calf cuff worn around a calf of a patient, a weighted ankle cuff worn around an ankle of a patient, a weighted sandal worn on a foot of a patient, and a weighted shoulder harness worn over the shoulders of a patient.
- 21. The method of claim 18, wherein the body-tensioning device comprises a body-securing harness attached to a portion of the body of the patient for resisting upward movement of the floatation device and the patient within the vessel, and wherein the variations of the body-tensioning force are created by raising the level of the liquid within the vessel from a first level to a higher, second level after the body-securing harness is attached to the body of the patient and the buoyant force created by the floatation device increases as the floatation device seeks a new buoyant equilibrium position at the second level against resistance to upward movement provided by the body-securing harness.
- 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the body-securing harness includes a hip belt worn about the hips of a patient and secured to the vessel.
- 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the hip belt is secured to the vessel by one or more tethers connected at one end thereof to the hip belt and at an opposite end thereof to the vessel.
- 24. The method of claim 22, wherein the hip belt is secured to the vessel by attaching the hip belt to a rigid patient-securing structure secured to the vessel.
- 25. An apparatus for effecting traction on a spinal column of a patient, said apparatus comprising:
- a vessel containing liquid at a level sufficient to float at least one patient therein;
- a floatation device to be engaged with a portion of the body of a patient for creating a buoyant force for buoyantly supporting the patient in the liquid contained in said vessel;
- a body-tensioning device constructed and arranged to be attached to one or more portions of the patient's body and to exert a tensioning force on the patient's body having a component acting in a direction opposite to the buoyant force created by said floatation device; and
- means for varying the level of liquid within said vessel by alternately displacing and replacing a volume of liquid within said vessel to raise and lower the mean level of the liquid within said vessel by an amount corresponding to the volume of liquid displaced and replaced so as to effect variations of the tensioning force exerted on the patient's body by said body-tensioning device as said floatation device responds to variations in the level of the liquid within the vessel by seeking new buoyant equilibrium positions within the liquid for each variation in the level of the liquid.
Parent Case Info
This application claims the benefit of prior filed provisional application No. 60/050,627, filed Jun. 4, 1997.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2395749 |
Mar 1979 |
FRX |
1607217 |
Dec 1969 |
DEX |