Patent Application
20180116889
This disclosure relates to generally to massage techniques, and more particularly to methods and apparatuses for supporting practitioners of foot-based massage techniques.
Massage practitioners have not been exempt from the increasing influence of alternative and Eastern medicine in the west. Shiatsu and Thai-Massage are examples of modalities that allow massage practitioners to utilize a much wider range of body mechanics than the Swedish-styles prevalent in Europe and North America. With this wider range, massage practitioners reduce fatigue and minimize the risk of repetitive-use injuries in the upper body.
One such modality derived from Eastern influences is foot-based massage where massage practitioners use gravity and their body weight to massage patients. The nature of foot-based massage often requires structural support for balance. Because of this, massage practitioners frequently use either an overhead rope fastened to an end of a room for support or a set of overhead bars that are either mounted to the ceiling or part of a bulky apparatus to administer a foot-based massage.
Methods and apparatuses for supporting practitioners of foot-based massage techniques are disclosed herein. According to a first implementation, a method of administering a massage comprising employing, by a massage practitioner, a foot of the massage practitioner to deliver force to a patient that is lying on a patient supporting device, and utilizing, by the massage practitioner, a flexible member affixed to patient supporting surface to assist with balance while employing the foot of the massage practitioner to deliver force to the patient.
According to a second implementation, a method of adapting a portable massage table having a first portion hingedly connected to a second portion. The method comprising using a fastener to secure the first portion of the portable massage table to the second portion of the portable massage table to prevent movement of the first portion of the portable massage table in relation to the second portion of the portable massage table and attaching a flexible member to the portable massage table.
According to a third implementation, an apparatus for adapting a portable massage table. The apparatus comprising an elongated body extending in a longitudinal direction and at least one clasp attached to the elongated body. The elongated body has a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional configuration. The at least one clasp is adaptable for securing a flexible member to the elongated body.
The disclosed methods and apparatuses are best understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is emphasized that, according to common practice, the various features of the drawings are not to scale. On the contrary, the dimensions of the various features are arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity.
In the illustrated, non-limiting example, the massage practitioner 2 supports the bulk of her weigh on her left leg 7, which is resting on the patient supporting surface 8 adjacent to the patient 6. A substantially right angle can be formed between the patient supporting surface 8 and the supporting leg, in this example the left leg 7. The massage is administered to the patient 6 using the foot of her non-supporting leg, in this example the right foot 4 and right leg 9. It is possible for the massage practitioner 2 to simultaneously use both of her feet 4, 5 to deliver the massage or alternatively use her left foot 5 to administer the massage while resting her right leg 9 on the patient supporting surface 8 adjacent to the patient 6.
To assist the massage practitioner 2 in maintaining her balance while administering the massage, a flexible member 10 affixed to the patient supporting surface 8. In the illustrated example, ends of the flexible member 10 are affixed or fixedly mounted to the patient supporting surface 8 with a mid-section of the flexible member 10 resting on shoulders 70 of the massage practitioner 2, which results in the flexible member 10 having a generally triangular configuration extending substantially perpendicular from the patient supporting surface 8 while the massage is being administered. The ends of the flexible member 10 are spaced apart from one another in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the patient 6 is laying. This allows the massage practitioner 2 to use tensional force, in addition to gravitational force, to administer the massage to the patient 6.
The patient supporting surface 8 can be any substantially planar surface capable of providing adequate support to the patient 6 and the massage practitioner 2 and remaining substantially stationary while the massage is administered. Possible patient support surfaces 8 include, but are not limited to, a floor, a mat resting on the floor, a table, a massage table, a stationary massage table, or a portable massage table. In the illustrated, non-limiting example, the patient supporting surface 8 is a portable massage table 12.
An underside 14 of the portable massage table 12 is illustrated in
To provide portability, the first leg 24, the second leg 26, the third leg 28, and the fourth leg 30 can be collapsible or foldable in relation to the portable massage table 12. The portable massage table 12 can further be comprised of a first portion 32 and a second portion 34 that are substantially similar and are hingedly connected to one another. The first portion 32 includes the first end 16, the first leg 24, and the second leg 26 of the portable massage table 12, and the second portion 34 includes the second end 18, the third leg 28, and the fourth leg 30 of the portable massage table 12.
In the illustrated, non-limiting example, the first portion 32 and the second portion 34 are hingedly connected to one another through the use of two hinges 36 attached to a first lateral support 38 and a second lateral support 40. The first lateral support 38 and the second lateral support 40 are fixedly connected to the underside 14 of the portable massage table 12 and can have any cross-sectional configuration, such as rectangular or circular. The first lateral support 38 is closer to the first end 16 of the portable massage table 12 than the second end 18 of the second end 18 of the portable massage table 12, and the second lateral support 40 is closer to the second end 18 of the portable massage table 12 than the first end 16 of the portable massage table 12. The hinges 36 are spaced between the third end 20 and the fourth end 22 of the portable massage table 12 and allow the portable massage table 12 to move between a collapsed position, where the first portion 32 and the second portion 34 of the portable massage table 12 face one another, and an open position, where the first portion 32 and the second portion 34 of the portable massage table 12 are substantially planar with one another. The portable massage table 12 is held in the open position by gravity and will move into the closed position when an upward force is applied to the underside 14 of the portable massage table 12.
Clasps 42 can be used to affix the flexible member 10 to the patient supporting surface 8. In the illustrated, non-limiting example, the flexible member 10 is affixed to two clasps 42 mounted to the underside 14 of the portable massage table 12 adjacent to the hinges 36 on the first portion 32 of the portable massage table 12. Mounting the clasps 42 near the hinges 36 allows the flexible member 10 to be affixed to the portable massage table 12 approximately halfway between the first end 16 and the second end 18 of the portable massage table 12. The clasps 42 are spaced laterally between the third end 20 and the fourth end 22 of the portable massage table 12 such that one clasp 42 is approximately one quarter of the distance between the third end 20 and the fourth end 22 of the portable massage table 12 and the other clasp 42 is approximately three quarters of the distance between the third end 20 and the fourth end 22 of the portable massage table 12. It is anticipated that the clasps 42 could be mounted elsewhere, such as a topside of the portable massage table 12, adjacent to the first end 16 or the second end 18 of the portable massage table 12, or spaced in a different manner laterally between the third end 20 and the fourth end 22 of the portable massage table 12.
An example of the clasp 42 is shown in
To assist with attaching the flexible member 10, the connecting member 58 of the clasp 42 can be comprised of a first portion 64 and a second portion 66. The first portion 64 of the connecting member 58 can be pivotally connected to the base 44 of the clasp 42 at the first end 60 of the connecting member 58. The second portion 66 of the connecting member 58 is fixedly connected to the base 44 of the clasp 42. A portion of the second portion 66 of the connecting member 58 overlaps the first portion 64 of the connecting member 58 such that the second portion 66 of the connecting member 58 stops pivotable movement along arrow A. A biasing element (not shown) can be provided with the first end 60 of the connecting member 58 that biases the first portion 64 of the connecting member 58 toward the portion of the second portion 66 of the connecting member 58 that overlaps the first portion 64 of the connecting member 58. This allows the first portion 64 of the connecting member 58 to rest against the second portion 66 of the connecting member 58 after a portion of the flexible member 10 clears the first portion 64 of the connecting member 58 and is in an aperture 68 defined by the base 44 and the connecting member 58 of the clasp 42. Alternatively, the first portion 64 and the second portion 66 of the connecting member 58 could be integrally formed with or fixedly connected to one another.
The flexible member 10 is affixed to the patient support surface 8 and is used by the massage practitioner 2 to assist with balance while delivering a foot-based massage. The flexible member 10 could be a strip of fabric, a rope, a strap, or any other elongated, flexible structure affixed to the patient supporting surface 8. In the illustrated, non-limiting example, the flexible member 10 is a strip of two-way stretch polyester lycra or tricot nylon that is approximately 38 inches wide and approximately twice the height of the massage practitioner 2 long. This configuration allows ends of the flexible member 10 to be tied to the clasps 42 mounted on the underside 14 of the portable massage table 12 and the flexible member 10 to comfortably and snuggly rest on shoulders 70 of the massage practitioner 2 while the massage practitioner 2 is fully upright on the portable massage table 12 as illustrated in
In
The first panel 80 is illustrated in
The first portion 86 and the second portion 88 of the first panel 80 are substantially similar with each having a substantially rectangular configuration. Corners 100 of the first portion 86 and the second portion 88 can have a substantially arcuate configuration to help prevent the flexible member 10 from becoming caught or snagged by the corners 100. In the illustrated, non-limiting example, the first portion 86 and the second portion 88 of the first panel 80 each have two aligned apertures 94 extending there through that are capable of receiving conventional fasteners 96, which are used to secure the apparatus 72 to the underside 14 of the portable massage table 12. The conventional fasteners 96 can be provided with a handle 97 to assist with temporarily securing the apparatus 73 to the portable massage table 12. In other implementations, the conventional fasteners 96 could be clamps, levers, or other similar mechanisms that allow the apparatus 73 to be secured to the underside 14 of the portable massage table 12.
The second panel 82 is illustrated in
To secure the flexible member 10 to the apparatus 72, the apparatus 72 is provided with at least one clasp 42. As shown in
To prevent the portable massage table 12 from moving into the collapsed position during a foot-based massage, the apparatus 72 can be secured to the first lateral support 38 and the second lateral support 40 of the portable message table 12 as shown in
The flexible member 10 can be attached to the clasps 42 in any known manner. For example, if the connecting member 58 of the clasp 42 is fixedly mounted to the base 44 of the clasp 42, an end of the flexible member 10 can be threaded through the aperture 68 of the clasp 42 and knotted on the other side of the aperture 68. In another example, the first portion 64 of the connecting member 58 of the clasp 42 is pivotally mounted to the base 44 of the clasp 42 and the end of the flexible member 10 has a pre-existing loop or knot, the loop or knot can be inserted into the aperture 68 of the clasp 42 by pressing the first portion 64 of the connecting member 58 away from the second portion 66 of the connecting member 58 of the clasp 42.
Once the first portion 32 has been secured in relation to the second portion 34 of the portable massage table 12 and the flexible member 10 has been attached to the portable massage table 12, the massage practitioner 2 can administer a foot-based massage to the patient 6 lying on the portable massage table 12 while using the flexible member 10 to assist with balance. If the flexible member 10 is stretched to rest on the shoulders 70 of the massage practitioner 2, tensional force will be directed toward the patient 6.
After the massage has been given, the apparatus 72 can be removed from the portable massage table 12 by loosening the conventional fasteners 96. This allows the portable massage table 12 to retain its portability. The flexible member 10 can remain attached to the apparatus 72 or can be removed from the apparatus 72 at the option of the massage practitioner 2. The flexible member 10 can be removed from the clasps 42 of the apparatus 72 by reversing the manner in which it was attached.
While the disclosed methods and apparatus have been described in connection with certain embodiments or implementations, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments and implementations but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the scope of the appended claims, which scope is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures as is permitted under the law.
