Patent Application
20240099421
Present embodiments relate to apparatuses and methods for resolving bodily pain and more specifically pain related to muscular and/or skeletal problems including joint pain, back pain, knee pain, and so on caused from inadequate support of a person's muscular and/or skeletal systems, and/or mechanical imbalances throughout the spine, pelvis and/or feet.
As is well known, body pain related to musculoskeletal problems is common in many adults and children alike. Musculoskeletal pain can be caused by many things including injuries, fallen aches, poor muscle tone and etc. Doctors specialize in various areas of the body related to musculoskeletal pain including orthopedics, chiropractors, and podiatrists. These well-known and highly respected specialists provide care for patients with various musculoskeletal structural and mechanical problems in order to reduce and/or eliminate pain for many people.
Some of the solutions include braces, chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture, modalities and foot arch supports. Present embodiments focus on the foot arch supports for correcting or easing musculoskeletal structural problems and/or pains.
The arch support disclosed herein includes materials that, when initially installed into a footwear or onto a summer footwear (e.g., slippers, sandals and etc.), provides a system, an apparatus or a method that first massages the foot arch area to stretch and loosen the foot arch system as a person walks, allowing the foot arch to move toward a natural position, then over time, the arch support changes characteristics and solidify to form a corrected self-firming type of arch support system.
Accordingly, in one embodiment, an arch support apparatus for a footwear is provided, comprising: a base layer and a top layer; a fill area between the base layer and the top layer; wherein the fill area is pliable when the arch support apparatus is applied to the footwear, and the fill area becomes firmer over time when a pressure is applied by a foot of a wearer.
In another embodiment, the fill area(s) of the arch support apparatus comprising: a fill material and a curing agent material, and wherein the fill material is mixed with the curing agent material when the pressure is applied by the foot of the wearer to cause the increased firmness of the fill area(s) over time.
In another embodiment, the base layer or the top layer the arch support, or the base layer and/or the top layer is pliable.
In another embodiment, a method of manufacturing an arch support apparatus for insertion into a footwear or onto a sandal is provided, comprising: providing a base layer and a top layer; joining a fill area between the base layer and the top layer; wherein the fill area comprising a fill material and a curing agent material, and the fill material is configured to mix with the curing agent material when a pressure is applied by a foot of a wearer.
Present inventors recognize that problems pertaining to musculoskeletal structure are directly related to imbalances within the framework of the spine. Many people do not realize that these imbalances begin at our foundation (the feet). Fallen arches (pronation) in feet cause a medial rotation to the lower leg, or tibia. This affects the lateral angle of the tibia and femur, putting more stress onto the medial (inside) aspect of the knee. This increased lateral knee angle also tends to cause the hip on the same side to drop down. Ultimately, the dropped hip height does not allow for a stable foundation for the spine above. Scoliosis (side bend in the spine) can develop and create many musculoskeletal imbalances which in turn result in strain/sprain of muscles and ligament as well as disc issues.
It is important for all people to have a stable pelvic foundation. The most common treatment for this is the use of arch supports in footwear.
Present embodiments help to reduce discomfort using arch supports by providing a new and improved foot arch support, and/or a method for providing foot or musculoskeletal relief, and/or a method of manufacturing such an arch support.
Existing examples for creating an arch support template of a person's arch include:
These techniques are described in more detail below:
1. Step impressions—Arch supports are created by taking impressions of the arch from the bottom of the foot. The impressions are typically done by having a person step into a soft material that forms to the contours of the bottom of the foot including the foot arch area. Another method involves stepping on a digital imaging machine. The impression is then sent to a lab where arch supports are made from a variety of materials including, for example, soft plastic, rubber, leather, and so on depending on supplier.
Present inventors recognize that problems related to this system include the turnaround time for the patient to receive the arch support from the doctor due to a lab making the arch supports and can be weeks. There is also associated unnecessary costs with single use impression materials, multiple humans involved, and the related labor costs with the lab, shipping of materials, and multiple doctor visits before the process is complete.
The larger problem with this system is that the impression is taken with the arch in a fallen or non-corrective position. While this system can provide some relief to the patient, it is not a fully corrective system and after a short while as the arch becomes worn or settled the patient will likely experience little to no improvement on pain or musculoskeletal structural correction, thus leaving the patient dissatisfied.
2. Neutral impressions—The neutral impression system is one in which the patient sits in a chair and a template is made of the foot arch area using a plaster cast or some other type of suitable material, for example, plastic, form, etc. This system can be superior to the step impression system because the impression is taken without weight on the foot allowing the arch to be in a more musculoskeletal corrective position. Once the impression is taken, then the cast is sent to a lab and the arch support is created, again with various material of plastic, leather, rubber and so on depending on supplier. Patients may have good experience with these types of arch supports and may also help with less chiropractic adjustments due to the support of the musculoskeletal frame.
Present inventors recognize that, however, these arch supports share many of the same problems as the step into impression systems, including that the arch being created at a lab and the turnaround time for the patient to receive the arch support from the doctor being weeks. There is also again associated unnecessary costs with single use impression materials, multiple humans involved and the related labor costs with the lab, shipping of materials, and multiple doctor visits before the process is complete.
3. No impressions—This system provides arch supports that are premade and ready to install into shoes. While these can be helpful, these are not custom and created to fit various types of people. However, reduced cost is typically seen by eliminating multiple visits and being able to have the patient walk out with premade arch supports in their shoes.
Again, present inventors recognize that all of the above existing techniques lack any system for stretching and loosening the foot arch system prior to taking impressions of the foot arch. Without loosening and preparing the foot arch for correction, it is likely that the arch support will not be fully effective and may initially cause foot pain as the foot arch system stretches and adjusts to the newly introduce support. Like a runner not stretching before jogging, the result may be pain or worst an injury may occur.
As described above along with other problems, present inventors recognize that the various existing systems has one or more of the following disadvantages:
Accordingly, present embodiments solve or improve upon the above and other problems or disadvantages related to inadequate arch support systems.
Present embodiments provide a new type of arch support that provide at least three new advantages, among others, that make this new type of arch supports effective:
To use the exemplary arch support, a person simply inserts the arch supports into their footwear. In one embodiment, a self-adhesive model may be provided for use with sandals, slippers, or other summer footwear. For sandal use, the support may include a cut out area to accommodate the typical sandal top of the foot construction support between the 1st and 2nd toes.
According to present embodiments, as a person walks, the arch support material is soft, pliable, and can flow providing the massaging effect to a person's arch. With use over time, as a person's arch becomes relaxed, the soft pliable material becomes increasingly harder or firmer, supporting a person's arch in the natural position.
Alternatively, there may be multiple layers more than two, for example, a 3-layer system would comprise a bottom layer, a middle layer, and a top layer. In one embodiment, specific areas between the top and bottom layers are formed into fill areas (110) and (120). The filling material used in the fill areas is a mixture of materials that may flow and will be pliable at first, but over time would be cured and would become firmer, to eventually be cured to, e.g., a flexible, soft rubber type of consistency. One example of a fill material may be silicone mixed with a curing agent like glycerin. As a person uses the arch support (e.g., pressure is applied by a foot of the wearer), the glycerin is released into and mixed with the silicone from the movements and pressures of walking. The amount of curing agent used, and the rate of curing agent released is controlled to obtain a desired effect of pliable to final firmer consistency.
Another example material is ECOflex, typically used for prosthetic appliances, cushioning for orthotics and special effects applications and is available with varying hardness and curing (pot) times. People skilled in the art will recognize that other combinations of materials may be used, for example, an epoxy resin and a curing agent (sometimes called a hardener) could be used for a stiff arch area if desired.
As illustrated, there are two layers of pliable base and top layers in
In one embodiment shown in
As an example, during construction of the arch support, a bottom layer is created
The silicone (210) and glycerin (230) as a curing agent (for this example) are put into the fill area unmixed in separate containers, (e.g., plastic bag type material for this example, with one plastic bag containing glycerin, inside the other containing silicone). Beyond the fill area(s), the outward portion is bonded together to complete the arch support, the bonding may include a self-adhesive, glue, sewing, heat activated, contact cement, or a combination thereof as some examples.
Therefore, as described herein, the fill area containers are previously constructed as components of the arch support and applied during the construction of the arch supports. One skilled in the art would recognize that the fill areas may also be designed as part of a base or a top layer (i.e., a pocket with fill materials) reducing the number of components.
The arch support is ready for use in a footwear once the arch support is made. Optionally, a double-sided tape, Velcro, or other holding method is used to retain an arch support in place within a footwear. The arch support is preferably constructed of a thin material like leather or vinyl a few millimeters of thickness requiring less dislocation of the foot within the footwear avoiding a tightening effect of the foot in the footwear.
Once a pliable arch support is inserted into a footwear for use, a person would walk with the footwear starting the process of arch messaging and stretching.
As a person walks with the pliable arch support, the weight of the person and movement would provide the necessary pressure so that the glycerin (230) would be released into the silicone, combining and flowing within the layer(s) beneath a person's foot arch while at the same time providing a massage to a person's foot arch stretching and loosening the tendons and muscles allowing the foot arch to relax toward a natural position. The glycerin being in its own container (230) has a release valve or a release area as part of a seal (240) that opens when under pressure causing the glycerin to flow out of its pliable container and released into the silicone. The valve can be a weak area of the glycerin container, or a small pipe that breaks open under pressure, or micro pliable reed valve, or a small pliable cap that pops off as some examples.
Over time as the glycerin and silicone mixed, the silicone cures from a soft, somewhat flowing material to a firmer consistency thus supporting a person's arch in a natural position. The relationship of portions of silicone versus glycerin determines the cure time and providing the right proportion would allow a specific cure time to be achieved, for example, 24 hours, or multiple days, whatever is desirable.
Moreover, more than 3 layers could be used, the number of layers is not intended to be limiting. For example, in another embodiment, layers of this arch support system may include foam padding using any types of various foams (e.g.; EVA foam, neoprene, polyurethane, gel memory foam, rubber padding, charcoal foam, latex foam, etc., all having varying compression characteristics) as part of the arch support system. Different types of foams (e.g., EVA foam) are available in various densities (typically measured in kg/m 3). Attention to density may be needed, because in some applications, using too low of a density will cause the foam to wear out sooner, while a denser foam can last longer. Density, however, is not necessarily related to comfort, therefore testing for the right density and comfort level is typically needed. There are many charts available to gauge a specific foam/density for a specific use case as people knowledgeable in the art would understand.
The two middle layers (420, 430) may comprise a foam material (e.g., EVA foam) that compresses over time with use (e.g., minutes to days) in combination with a self-firming arch area as described and shown previously with, e.g.,
In another embodiment, for a neutral arch support, the wearer or a podiatrist may apply pressure to the self-firming arch support area using hands to premix the silicone (in this example) with the curing agent to start a curing of the self-firming arch area without applying the wear's body weight during standing or walking. The arch support is then placed into a shoe, and the shoe is then put on the foot. In addition, hand pressure may also be applied to the shoe bottom while sitting. The arch support is then removed from the shoe and put aside until the firmness curing process is completed. The wearer then returns the arch supports to the shoes for use. The neutral arch support process continues with the EVA foam (for this example) compressing with use, resulting in a final lifting effect on the wearer's arch forming an arch support into a final neutral position.
As one skilled in the art would recognize, the same process of self-firming arch area with a compression foam and walking prior to firming creates yet another type of no impression natural fitting arch support versus the neutral fitting arch support option.
In other exemplary embodiments, the support material or area needs not to be limited to an arch area, similar support materials or areas may be used to support a heel of other areas of the foot and footwear.
This application claims the priority and all the benefits of US Provisional Application No. 63/409,803 filed on Sep. 25, 2022, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63409803 | Sep 2022 | US |
