Claims
- 1. A method of treatment of a patient, said method comprising the steps of:
providing a strap, the strap having a first end portion, a second end portion, and a main portion disposed between the first end portion and second end portion, the first end portion having first and second sides with surfaces formed of foam, the main portion of the strap has a first side with a surface which is formed of foam and faces in the same direction as the surface on the first side of the first end portion, the main portion of the strap has a second side with a surface formed of fabric and faces in the same direction as the surface on the second side of the first end portion; positioning the layer formed of foam on the first end portion in engagement with skin on a body of the patient, retaining the first end portion of the strap against movement relative to the body of the patient by wrapping the strap around a portion of the body of the patient and positioning a portion of the layer formed of foam and disposed on the first side of the main portion of the strap in engagement with foam disposed on the second side of the first end portion, and connecting the second end portion of the strap to the second side of the main portion of the strap at a location between the first and second end portions of the strap.
- 2. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said step of connecting the second end portion of the strap to the second side of the main portion of the strap includes connecting the second end portion of the strap to a layer of fabric which extends along the second side of the main portion of the strap from the foam disposed on the second side of the main portion of the strap to the second end portion of the strap.
- 3. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said step of wrapping the strap around the portion of the body of the patient includes:
winding the strap about an axis that extends through the portion of the body of the patient; and applying force having a component that extends along the axis to myofascial tissue in the body of the patient.
- 4. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said step of wrapping the strap around a portion of the body and positioning a portion of the layer formed of foam disposed on the first side of the main portion of the strap in engagement with foam disposed on a second side of the first end portion includes:
forming a first loop that extends around the portion of the patient's body; tensioning the strap to apply force to the first loop; pulling fascia in the patient's body away from one location toward another location under the influence of tension in the strap; and forming a second loop that extends around the portion of the patient's body.
- 5. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said step of wrapping the strap around a portion of the body and positioning a portion of the layer formed of foam disposed on the first side of the main portion of the strap in engagement with foam disposed on a second side of the first end portion includes:
forming a first loop that extends around a leg of the patient at a location adjacent to a knee of the patient and is at least partially offset in a first direction from a center of the knee of the patient; tensioning the strap to apply force to the first loop; forming a second loop that extends around the patient's leg at a location adjacent to the knee of the patient and is at least partially offset in a second direction from the center of the knee of the patient; and moving a bone in the knee of the patient under the influence of force transmitted to the bone from at least one of the first and second loops.
- 6. The method as set forth in claim 5, wherein said step of forming a second loop that extends around the patient's leg includes intersecting the first loop with the second loop, and said step of moving a bone in the knee of the patient under the influence of force transmitted to the bone from at least one of the first and second loops includes transmitting force from an intersection between the first and second loops to the bone.
- 7. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said step of wrapping the strap around a portion of the body and positioning a portion of the layer formed of foam disposed on the first side of the main portion of the strap in engagement with foam disposed on a second side of the strap includes:
forming a first loop which extends around a hand of the patient; tensioning the strap to apply force to the first loop; forming a second loop at a region of the patient's body where the hand and a wrist are interconnected; and transmitting force between the first and second loops through the strap.
- 8. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said step of positioning the layer formed of foam disposed on the first end portion in engagement with skin on the body of the patient includes engaging the layer of foam with skin on the body of the patient in a region where a first arm of the patient is joined with a trunk of the body of the patient, and the step of wrapping the strap around a portion of the body of the patient includes wrapping the strap around the trunk of the patient and engaging skin on the body of the patient with the layer of foam in a region where a second arm of the patient is joined with the trunk of the patient.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/738,791, filed Dec. 15, 2000.
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09738791 |
Dec 2000 |
US |
Child |
10439418 |
May 2003 |
US |