The invention relates to a trunk orthosis with a bandage designed to surround the trunk of a patient, and with a support device connected to the bandage.
It is known to use trunk orthoses to support and relieve the lumbar spine. It is also known that the orthosis may need to fulfil very different functions here. For instance, it may be necessary to relieve the lordosis area of the spine in its entirety, by bridging said area with the support device. This provides a substantial immobilization of the spine.
It is also known to support the lumbar area or lumbosacral area of the spine during limited mobility. In a subsequent rehabilitation phase, it may only be necessary to provide a certain degree of support by means of a bandage or a slightly strengthened bandage.
DE 202 04 747 U1 discloses a trunk orthosis of the aforementioned type, which is designed for versatile use in different applications and for adjustment to different patients. In addition to the bandage being formed by two overlapping constituent bandages, which is intended to allow the bandage height to be adapted to the patient in question, various support devices are provided for the bandage. In addition to support rods that can be inserted into specially provided pockets, various support devices in the form of a back-support frame to bridge the lordosis area (lordosis correction) or a vertebral link pad to stabilize the movable lordosis area can be secured to the bandage arrangement. If necessary, this spinal column orthosis can be supplemented with a dish-shaped abdominal pad. The various support devices can be attached to the bandage by means of velcro tape fasteners and can thus be easily changed.
A disadvantage of the known trunk orthosis system is that, for a single orthosis, very different support devices have to be made available and used in order to ensure the different application purposes.
The object of the present invention is therefore to design a trunk orthosis of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that it can be used as flexibly as possible.
According to the invention, this object is achieved, in a trunk orthosis of the type mentioned at the outset, by the fact that the support device is formed by a plurality of finger-shaped rods which are arranged next to one another, are oriented in the longitudinal direction of the spinal column, are directly connected to one another and are made of a flexible plastic.
Thus, in the trunk orthosis according to the invention, the support device is formed by a link system, which is constructed by way of the finger rods and which permits a high degree of flexibility in several ways. The finger-shaped rods are preferably designed such that their length decreases from the center toward the ends of the bandage. At least three final finger-shaped rods at the end of the bandage are of equal length. This allows the trunk orthosis to be adjusted to different girths by separating a suitable number of the finger-shaped rods of equal length from the ends of the support device, in order to adapt the orthosis for smaller girths. For this purpose, it is advantageous if the connection of the at least three final finger-shaped rods can be easily separated.
The finger-shaped rods are connected to one another via their central pieces and have free ends on both sides of the central piece.
The connection of the finger-shaped rods to one another is preferably formed by narrow webs that permit a certain mobility of the finger-shaped rods with respect to one another, while at the same time still ensuring a sufficient strength of the support device in the circumferential direction of the trunk.
The support device is chosen, in terms of the length of the finger-shaped rods, for a predetermined size of patient body. Lordosis support can be achieved by the flexible finger-shaped rods themselves, while maintaining a certain mobility of the lordosis.
The trunk orthosis according to the invention can be easily reconfigured for bridging the lordosis area (lordosis correction) if at least the finger-shaped rods in the center of the bandage have securing devices for correspondingly finger-shaped stiffening rods. The stiffening rods are preferably made of a suitable stiff plastic, and the finger rods made of plastic can be snapped on or screwed on.
For therapy following prolapse of an intervertebral lumbar disc, it may thus be expedient to first provide substantial immobilization by bridging the lordosis area. If the clinical picture improves, the stiffening rods can be easily removed, such that the trunk orthosis according to the invention with the same structure of the finger-shaped rods can then serve to support the lordosis area in which there is now limited mobility.
After substantial relief of pain has been achieved, it can then be advantageous for the support device formed by the finger-shaped rods to be completely removed from the bandage and for a precautionary residual stabilization then to be provided only by the bandage itself, in which case it is possible to exert a slightly increased stabilizing effect by introduction of strengthening means.
To ensure that the support device formed by the finger-shaped rods can be easily removed from the bandage, it is expedient if the finger-shaped rods are secured releasably on the bandage, preferably by means of velcro connections.
Since the support device formed by the finger-shaped rods is preferably mounted on the outside of the bandage, a tightening strap for the bandage can be guided preferably on the finger-shaped rods themselves, if they are provided with guide devices for the tightening strap. The guide devices can be integrally connected to the finger-shaped rods, that is to say they are provided during the injection molding operation for the finger-shaped rods.
In a preferred embodiment, the finger-shaped rods have, along their length, a shape in which, starting from the center, they taper toward the outside, then have a widened free end for comfortable bearing of the ends on the body. The tapering serves to increase the elasticity and adaptability to the lordosis curvature if the stiffening rods are not used. If stiffening rods are used, there is no adaptation to the lordosis curvature, since the lordosis area in this case is bridged.
In the area outside the central finger-shaped rods, the adaptability of the support device can be improved by the finger-shaped rods being interconnected by spring elements, which permit a variation in the distances between the finger-shaped rods, in the side areas of the support device. If two spring elements are provided for connecting the finger-shaped rods, a deliberate inclination of the finger-shaped rods with respect to one another can be achieved. By contrast, the central finger-shaped rods can be connected rigidly to one another by the central pieces and thus form a single central piece that does not permit any variation of the distance between the finger-shaped rods. Analogously, the finger-shaped stiffening rods can be interconnected to form a one-piece stiffening part.
In another preferred embodiment, the bandage has a multi-part design, with a central piece carrying the support device, and with two end pieces that can be connected to each other to close the bandage. Intermediate pieces of different length can be inserted between the central piece and the end pieces in order to adapt the length of the bandage to the trunk of the particular patient. The necessarily strong connection between the parts of the bandage is preferably achieved by means of velcro fasteners, where the ends to be connected to each other can be formed as a flat end provided with velcro fastener elements on both faces, and as a mouth-like end which engages over both faces of the flat end and has matching velcro fastener elements.
The invention will be explained in greater detail below on the basis of illustrative embodiments shown in the drawing, in which:
The trunk orthosis shown in
A support device 5, secured releasably on the bandage 1, is formed by finger-shaped rods 6 of different length which are arranged next to one another, parallel to the spinal column and parallel to one another, and are connected to one another via web connections (not shown). In the center of the bandage 1, there is at least one finger-shaped rod 6, preferably two finger-shaped rods 6, of greatest length, which are adjoined by finger-shaped rods 6 of decreasing lengths in the direction toward the ends 3, 4. In the illustrative embodiment shown, the final three finger-shaped rods 6′ are of equal length and can be easily separated from one another via the connecting webs, such that the length of the support device 5 can be adapted to the respective girth of the patient's trunk.
It will be seen from
The finger-shaped rods 6, in particular the finger-shaped rods of greatest length 6″, have a shape which, with respect to their length, forms a wide central piece 61 at which the connection to adjacent finger-shaped rods 6 is made and which merges into a tapering portion 62, which is in turn adjoined by a once again widened free end piece 63. Accordingly, the stiffening rods too have a wide central piece 71 and, adjoining the latter, a tapered free end piece 72.
The arrangement of the bandage 1 on the trunk can be supported by a tightening strap 8 which, by means of guide hooks 9 injection-molded onto the finger-shaped rods 6, is guided along the length of the bandage 1 in the area of the support device 5. The guide hooks 9 are expediently produced in one piece with the finger-shaped rods 6 upon injection molding of the latter.
The illustrated trunk orthosis is therefore adaptable to a certain extent to the patient and, in addition, can be used in different functions, without different support devices having to be used for this purpose.
When the intermediate piece 15, 15′ of the right length to suit the abdominal girth of the patient 10 has been selected, it is strongly connected to the associated end piece 13, 14 and the central piece 2.
In the illustrative embodiment shown, the strong connection between the intermediate piece 15, 15′ and the end piece 14 is achieved by the intermediate piece 15, 15′ having a flat end 16 which is directed toward the end piece 13, 14 and which is provided on both faces with velcro fastener elements. The end pieces 13, 14 have mouth-like ends 17 which are directed toward the intermediate pieces 15, 15′ and which engage over both faces of the flat end 16 of the intermediate piece 15, 15′ and are correspondingly provided with matching velcro fastener elements, such that a velcro fastener connection with the end pieces 13, 14 is produced on both faces of the flat end 16.
In a corresponding manner, the central piece 2 is designed with flat ends 16 which interact with the mouth-like ends 17 of the intermediate piece 15, 15′ that are directed toward the middle piece 12, to produce a strong velcro connection 16, 17.
For small girths, the bandage 1 can of course also be assembled without an intermediate piece 15, 15′, by securing the end pieces 13, 14 directly to the central piece 12.
The bandage 1 shown in
To perform the function according to
To press the support device 5′ onto the lordosis area of the patient 10, a tightening strap 18 is used which consists of end elements 19 at its two ends and of plastic wires 20 which connect the two end elements 19 and which terminate in a clip piece 21. The end elements 19 can be connected to the end pieces 13, 14 of the bandage 1 by velcro fasteners. A tightening function is achieved by the strip-shaped end elements 19 being guided through a slit-shaped opening of the associated clip end piece 21 and turned through 180°. In the tightened state, the turned end of the end element 19 can likewise be secured with the aid of a velcro fastener, such that the tightening strap 18 is held in a desired tension with the end element 19.
The parallel plastic wires 20 extend through openings in projecting ribs of the finger-shaped rods 26, the central finger-shaped rods 26′ forming a common central piece through which the plastic wires 20 extend. The two plastic wires 20 extending parallel to each other can also be formed by a single plastic wire 20, which is threaded through the openings of the finger-shaped rods 26, 26′ and turned through 180° in the clip end pieces 21, and the two ends of the plastic wire 20 can then be connected to each other, preferably with a connector piece (not shown).
The trunk orthosis shown in
An elastic adaptation of the support device 5′ to the lordosis curvature, by virtue of the elasticity of the finger-shaped rods 26 in their longitudinal direction toward the free ends, is suppressed by the stiffening part 22, such that the trunk orthosis formed as in
The second embodiment of the invention shown in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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102005031867.3 | Jul 2005 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/DE2006/001128 | 6/29/2006 | WO | 00 | 1/7/2008 |