Patent Application
20180279717
This disclosure relates generally to footwear that provides intermittent corrective motion during ambulation and, more particularly, to footwear that includes a raised boss configured to be positioned between toes of the foot of a wearer of the footwear that provides intermittent corrective motion during ambulation so as to prevent bunions from forming.
The human foot is a complex structure of bones and tendons. The bones of the fore-foot from the tip of the toe rearwards include phalanges, specifically three in the lesser toes and two in the hallux and metatarsals, where the mid-foot bones include cuneiforms and cuboid. The function of the foot is controlled partially by a large tendon complex referred to as the plantar tendon that controls the arch height of the foot, and locks and unlocks the foot during the gait cycle, where the plantar tendon is routed between the sesamoids to be attached to the hallux. There are numerous smaller tendons attached to the bones of the foot to control position and function.
Bunions, referred to in the medical community as hallux valgus (HV), are a common and painful foot condition often times removed by surgery. Bunions typically occur in the first ray, also known as the big toe or hallux, but can also occur in the fifth ray, although less common. Bunions generally occur when the toe joint moves medially, which sometimes causes a large bump in the foot. More specifically, if the deep transverse metatarsal ligament ruptures, the hallux migrates laterally, and the plantar tendon force vector crosses the center of the metatarsal-phalangeal joint, where rotation is accelerated creating the bunion. Bunions cause shoe fit problems, alter the walking mechanism, and create pain for the individual. The etiology is primarily genetic where minor differences in bone structure suggests a predictor of developing bunions, which are accelerated by narrow toe shoes, common in the western hemisphere.
Professionals in the art have noted the need to address hallux valgus and providing corrective measures prior to the current standard of letting the disease progress, necessitating bunion surgery, which is essentially a salvage procedure.
There are numerous non-operative treatments that address bunions that can move the hallux into its proper position. These treatments can be categorized as fixed displacement (static), or variable displacement (dynamic) procedures. Fixed displacement procedures generally require the individual to wear splints at night that are anchored to the mid-foot. Another approach includes wearing a series of silicone toe spreaders that are worn when convenient, but which are bulky and often cannot be used during daily activities. Variable displacement devices typically have elastic members that tension the hallux in an attempt to put it back into alignment. Both static and dynamic splints apply constant force on the hallux, where the pain receptors in the foot are constantly active. Compliance with these devices is low due to constant pain. Often times these devices are only used in the evening, where the time of treatment is further reduced. Other foot problems, such as plantar fasciitis, are treated with dynamic splints that are even more bulky, and have the same limitations as static splints. A shoe or sneaker that fits well does not fit as well as one may think. Typically, there is wiggle room in the toe box, which is a common test performed during footwear fitting.
The human gait has phases that include the contact phase where the foot is on the ground and sub-categories that include first a heel strike, then mid-stance where the load center travels along the foot, propulsion or toe off, and then the swing phase. The running phases may have alternate strike locations, but are individual specific.
There are fat pads under the bones of the forefoot that function as cushioning elements. During the gait cycle, they are compressed when loaded, and like springs, return to a taller height when unloaded. Indentation of the pads can be numerous millimeters deep during compression. Under the first metatarsal head, the pad thickness is 8.5±1.5 mm, but lessens with hallux valgus to 7.4±1.6 mm. The toes and to a lesser extent rises off insole 1 to 2 mm during the swing phase of the gait cycle. Coupled with the compression of the fat pads, the metatarsals in the toes rise is a combination of the toe box lift, and fat pad displacement, for a total range of motion of 5 mm or more.
The present disclosure describes footwear that provides intermittent corrective motion during ambulation to prevent bunions from forming. The footwear includes an interdigital boss that is positioned on the footwear in a direction that is more anatomically correct than the improperly positioned digit of the footwear wearer. The boss provides a slight corrective motion during load bearing and a non-correcting position during the swing phase of the gait cycle so as to stretch soft tissues, to provide pain relief, and to delay the onset of degenerative diseases. The corrective forces are exerted on the tissues intermittently, thus eliminating the dull ache experienced by constant corrective devices.
In one embodiment, the footwear includes an insole, either integral to a shoe or sandal or as a separate and removable insert, and an integral boss that extends from the plantar contact surface of the wearer's foot, towards the dorsal surface of the hallux. The boss includes an oblique surface adjacent to the hallux that contacts the lateral side of the hallux during all phases of the wearer's gait cycle, where during the gait cycle the small vertical motion of the hallux results in a distraction of the hallux towards a more anatomical position. The boss produces the opposite motion to what happens to the foot digits in pointed shoes. In another embodiment, the footwear includes an under-foot sole with at least one boss extending above the foot contact surface that is in the projected inter-toe space when the wearer's foot is in the swing phase of the gait cycle, and having at least one surface angled from the vertical plane to intersect the toe during the loaded phase of the gait cycle, creating an intermittent motion of the toe during ambulation.
Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The following discussion of the embodiments of the disclosure directed to footwear that includes a raised boss configured to be positioned between toes of the foot of a wearer of the footwear that provides intermittent corrective motion during ambulation so as to prevent bunions from forming is merely exemplary in nature, and is in no way intended to limit the invention or its applications or uses.
The present disclosure proposes a device that is part of a shoe or sandal that operates to provide a slight corrective motion during load bearing and a non-correcting position during the swing phase of the gait cycle to prevent a bunion from forming on the wearer's foot. The device will treat women and men that are developing hallux valgus due to genetic causes or otherwise. Treatment of women in their second and third decade may retard the onset or progression of hallux valgus by giving the ligaments and soft tissues correct positioning without pain or intrusion into lifestyle or habits. To prevent pain, translation of the metatarsals by the device is very small in both angular and linear displacements. The use of the device may prevent advancement of hallux valgus as it unloads the deep transverse metatarsal ligament. Even when the joint is incongruent, the device can assist in pushing the joint back towards a congruent location, and may provide considerable pain relief. Intermittent stretching of the toe is much less painful than constant distraction. Soft tissues would distract as well, though the treatment is slow and generally regarded as painful.
There are several locations on the human foot that the device is useful to correct the more common hallux valgus, and the similar condition of the fifth metatarsal. The Hallux valgus can use one or two corrective ramps. The two-boss system has a medial boss to the laterally displaced joint, and the lateral boss to the medially displaced joint. There is variation in the hallux width, IMA, stiffness, and interdigital space depth and width. To accommodate these variations in people, the position, angle and height of the device must be varied so distraction distance and forces are small. A modular insole version of the device allows a single geometric sole to be mated with a selectable module with varied parameters. The modules can be either bottom or distal loading, going into a receiving recess. Interlocking means can be employed, typically barbs or latches, to prevent mobile boss migration. A lateral offset positioner and scale, a distal slide positioner and scale, both to locate the terminus of the hallux, second digit interspace, and an angle of the lateral hallux relative to the sagittal plane. Similar measurements can be taken for the other distraction boss locations. These three measurements determine the location and angle of the distraction boss.
The footwear 10 includes an interdigital boss module 40 mounted to the sole 12 in the front region 22 so that it will be positioned between the first and second toes of the wearer in a direction that is more anatomically correct than the improperly positioned digit of the footwear wearer and provide intermittent corrective forces on the wearer's foot consistent with the discussion herein.
The module 40 can be provided in various sizes and shapes to be able to be worn by different people of different sizes having different anatomies, to be configurable for different types of footwear and to be configured for different toes. For example, the boss 44 can be taller for open type shoes and can be shorter for certain types of shoes and boots, where the boss 44 will typically be 2-2.5 mm in height. Further, the boss 44 can be asymmetrical, where, for example, a medial side of the boss 44 has a curvilinear shape. Also, the boss 44 can be angled or rotated relative to the base portion 42.
The upper region 110 of the body 104 is where a lateral surface of the wearer's big toe contacts the boss 102 during the swing phase of the gait cycle. When the wearer's foot is in contact with the ground, and his/her weight is distributed on it, the fat pads of the toes compress, and any space in the footwear as a result of a slightly loose fit is taken up and the toes slides past the middle region 112 to the correct position 114.
The foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion and from the accompanying drawings and claims that various changes, modifications and variations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined in the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/601,756 filed Mar. 31, 2017, and titled Intermittent Vectored Digital Manipulation Device and Method.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62601756 | Mar 2017 | US |
