Patent Application
20200330308
The present disclosure relates to an overlay for a massage headrest and a method of making an overlay for a massage headrest.
A massage table is generally a padded table upon which a person lies face down to receive a massage. Sometimes the massage is for medical purposes, in which case the recipient may be considered a patient. Sometimes massage is for non-medical purposes; however, for consistency, the recipient will be referred to as a “patient” throughout the present disclosure, on the understanding that this disclosure applies to both medical and non-medical massage.
The massage table generally has a headrest, formed as part of the table or as an extension or attachment. Massage headrests can also be used for resting the head during a massage even when a patient is not lying on a table, e.g. for patients on chairs or massage stools. The headrest contains an aperture for the patient's face so they may lay comfortably, facing forwards, while lying on their front or, if not lying, positioned face down. Without the aperture, it is uncomfortable for a person to lie or sit with their face pressing into the headrest and so, in such situations, a person will usually turn their head to one side which will affect the positioning and tension in the neck, back, and shoulder muscles that may be the subject of the massage.
For hygiene purposes, some kind of replaceable barrier is placed between the patient (who may be naked or mostly unclothed) and the headrest so that the replaceable barrier may be removed after each patient's massage and replaced by a fresh one.
One commonly used barrier is a paper sheet laid over part of the massage table or the entire table. The masseuse or other person punches a hole in the paper sheet at the location of the aperture in the table where the patient's face goes, so that when the patient lies face down on the table, their forehead and cheeks rest on the headrest and their face, particularly the nose and mouth area, is left free and not abutting any material. This makes it easy to breathe while allowing the patient to relax into the headrest without putting uncomfortable pressure on their nose in particular. After the massage, the paper sheet is thrown away. Disposable paper sheet is less eco-friendly than other, washable, overlays.
Another commonly used solution is to place a folded towel around the aperture in the massage headrest, where the folded towel has been folded into a generally triangular shape leaving a central aperture free where the patient can rest their face. To do this, a typical towel may be folded a few times and bent into a generally triangular shape with the aperture in the center for the patients' nose and mouth area. Folded towels are generally resilient and pliable and this may improve the patient's comfort when resting their face on the towel. Such a towel overlay often leaves indentations (marks) on the user's face from the towel material. Further, a folded towel provides a very variable thickness of padding for the users face, which can lead to an imperfect patient-posture during use, by tilting the patient's head forward or backward creating tension in the neck, shoulder and back muscles. The creases formed by folding the towel over itself also can leave very visible furrows in the patient's skin lasting over minutes or hours. A folded towel will often be greater than 2 cm thick and this can tilt the patient's head backwards, obscuring the sub-occipital muscles at the base of the skull. Some headaches and radiating pain are related to these muscles and so a thick-overlay that leads to the patient's head tilting backwards inhibits treatment of these muscles. The rest of the table may be covered with another towel or with paper sheet. After the massage, the towel(s) may be washed and reused.
Another known solution is to use a cotton sheet or terrycloth sheet as an overlay. Cotton sheets as overlays are prone to crinkles and folds which leave marks of the patient's body or face. Similarly, terrycloth also leaves marks on the patient's body or face due to the loops of fabric in the terrycloth. Creases in such overlays may form during use from small movements of the patient, even if the overlay was initially laid flat.
Such conventional barriers for a massage table/headrest have generally been considered acceptable for their intended purpose. However, is it desirable to have a more reusable barrier not having the problems mentioned above.
According to a first aspect, the disclosure provides a fabric overlay for a massage headrest, the overlay comprising: a first fabric portion having an aperture therethrough, the aperture defined by an inner edge of the first fabric portion, wherein the first portion is configured to extend in a first plane; and a second fabric portion formed into a tube and having first and second ends, wherein the first end of the second portion is joined to the first fabric portion so that the tube extends around the aperture and extends away from the first plane; wherein the fabric comprises a first layer of fabric and a second, different, layer of fabric, wherein the first layer is a fabric top layer and the second layer is a breathable polymer membrane.
The first layer may be a very smooth natural or synthetic fabric, such as viscose, polyester, or bamboo. Although other smooth and soft fabrics may be used for the top layer.
The membrane layer provides structural rigidity to the fabric top layer and thereby ensures that the overlay is crease-free (or “wrinkle-free”). Such fabrics are also commonly called “non-iron”, which term expresses that the fabric will hold its shape after washing and will not need to be ironed to ensure the fabric remains crease/wrinkle free. That is, such crease-free/wrinkle-free/non-iron fabrics resist external stress and hold their shape after washing.
The fabric may further comprise a third layer, bonded to the adjacent second layer, wherein the third layer is a padded textile layer. The third layer is bonded to the second layer, i.e. so that the third layer is separated from the first layer by the membrane layer. Put another way, the layers may be ordered such that, in use, the first layer is in abutment with the patient's face, the second layer is adjacent the first layer, and the third layer is adjacent the second layer and in abutment with the massage apparatus.
The padded textile layer may be a natural or synthetic padded material. For example, a woollen layer or a microfleece layer or foam layer etc. Such fabrics provide padding and therefore extra comfort. Some massage tables and chairs do not contain padding and so having a third padded textile layer in the overlay can improve comfort on such massage apparatuses. Sometimes the padding of a massage apparatus may consist of leather or synthetic leather over wood. In such cases, the overlay 10 may protect a patient's face from being marked by seams in the leather.
The first end of the tube may be sewn to the first fabric portion at or near the inner edge, or the first end of the tube may be glued or heat sealed at or near the inner edge of the first fabric portion. Alternatively, the overlay may be formed as a single piece, e.g. by 3D weaving techniques.
The first fabric portion has an outer edge that may define one of a square shape, a round shape, or an oval shape. The desired shape will be partly determined by the size and shape of the massage headrest, as well as by aesthetic considerations.
The first fabric portion and second fabric portion may be made from a resilient fabric having a thickness greater than or equal to 2 mm and less than or equal to 5 mm. A resilient fabric provides some padding that can improve the comfort of a patient on a massage table, but keeping the fabric thickness low is useful to avoid propping up the patient's face which could introduce undesirable strain in the patient's neck, shoulders, and/or back muscles during the massage. Thus, an intermediate thickness is advantageous where the overlay provides some padding but is not so thick as to distort the patient's posture.
The first fabric portion and second fabric portion may be made from a machine washable fabric. This means that the overlay can be washed after each use and then reused for another patient in future. This can reduce waste compared to single-use paper towel overlays.
The fabric may be a multi-layer fabric. A multi-layer fabric comprises at least two layers that will usually be different materials. The first layer (that is adjacent a patient's skin, in use) may be selected for comfort, e.g. not a rough material, hypoallergenic, not textured in a manner that may leave marks on skin etc. The subsequent layers may provide different properties, such as improved strength for the overlay, or sweat-absorbancy etc. The sportswear industry has developed a large number of multi-layer fabrics for similar purposes of fabric strength, skin-feel, sweat absorbency, stain resistancy etc.
The first portion of the overlay may have a constant fabric thickness. This ensures that the overlay provides a flat surface that does not significantly distort the shape of the underlying massage table. By comparison, folded towels as described above, provide a very variable thickness that can tilt the patient's head in various ways, which can lead to undesirable tension in the neck, back, and/or shoulders during massage.
A strap may be connected to the second fabric portion. A strap may provide a convenient means for holding the overlay, e.g. when placing it on a massage table, as well as convenient means to ensure that the second portion extends properly through the aperture of the massage table. Preferably the strap is connected to the second fabric portion at or near the second end. Further preferably, the strap is connected to the second portion at two places, such that the strap extends from one portion of the tube to another. The strap may be in the patient's view during the massage but is not in contact with the patient's face. A company logo, inspirational message, or other advertising may be printed on the strap to sit in the patient's view during massage. The strap may also be impregnated with a scent. The strap is preferably a single-layer fabric strap, such as cotton. However, the strap may be a two-layer or a three-layer fabric. For example, the strap may be made of the same fabric as the first and second portions.
According to another aspect, the present disclosure provides a massage arrangement comprising: a massage headrest having a first surface containing a massage headrest aperture for receiving a person's face; and the overlay according to the first aspect, wherein the aperture of the overlay is substantially the same size and shape as the massage headrest aperture, such that, in use, the second fabric portion extends through the massage headrest aperture and the first fabric portion lays on the first surface of the massage headrest.
Preferably, the overlay is not folded over itself at any region. This ensures that the overlay provides a constant thickness so that a patient's head is not tilted in any undesired manner (e.g. as often happens with folded towels).
According to another aspect, there is provided a method of manufacturing an overlay for a massage headrest, the method comprising: forming a first fabric portion having an aperture therethrough, the aperture defined by an inner edge of the first fabric portion, wherein the first portion is configured to extend in a first plane; forming a second fabric portion by forming rectangular fabric portion into a tube by connecting two opposing sides of the rectangle together, such that the other two sides of the rectangular fabric portion provide first and second ends of the tube; connecting the first end of the tube to the first portion so that the second portion extends around the aperture and extends away from the first plane to form the overlay, wherein the fabric of the overlay comprises a first layer of fabric and a second, different, layer of fabric, wherein the first layer is a fabric top layer and the second layer is a breathable polymer membrane.
By this method, the first and second portions can both be cut from a flat sheet of fabric and then formed into the three-dimensional shape of the overlay by joining the two parts together.
The method may further comprise forming a strap having first and second opposed ends; and connecting the first end of the strap to a first point on the second end of the tube, and connecting the second end of the strap to a second point on the second end of the tube.
By this method, the strap can also be formed from the same flat sheet of fabric as the first and second portions.
On different overlays, the aperture may have different sizes. Different designs of massage tables and massage chairs have different shapes and sizes of apertures for the patient's face. The presently disclosed overlay may therefore be sized appropriately for a given massage apparatus.
The aperture may have any shape. Generally, oval, stadium-shaped, or circular apertures are preferred. These shapes are more suited to the shape of a human face and are simple to manufacture. A stadium-shape is a geometric shape having two parallel sides and, at each end a regular curve (such as a semi-circle or semi-oval) connects the two parallel sides.
Having the spa overlay made of washable fabric improves the re-usability of the overlay. Paper sheet is typically single-use in massage as paper is not washable.
Certain embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in greater detail by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
In other massage apparatuses (not shown), there may be an adjustable extended headrest portion. For example, some massage tables have the headrest movable relative to the rest of the massage table, and in massage chairs the headrest is typically movable relative to the seat of the chair. While the following disclosure generally makes reference to a massage table 102, it is to be understood that the overlay 10 of the present disclosure is also applicable to other massage headrests, such as those just described.
A second portion 16 is connected to the first portion 12. The second portion forms a tube that extends around the aperture and away from the plane of the first portion. Preferably, the second portion is connected to the first portion at or near the inner edge 12a. In use, the second portion 16 hangs down from the first portion 12 and extends at least partially through the aperture 104 of the massage table 102.
The second portion 16 is generally cylindrical having a first end 16a and an opposed second end 16b. The first end 16a is connected around the inner edge 12a of the first portion. Thus, in the disclosed embodiment, the shape of the second portion 16 matches the shape of the aperture 14 defined by the inner edge 12a. The second portion 16 may extend away from the plane of the first portion 12 by any length but preferably the generally cylindrical shape has a length of 5 to 15 cm.
A strap 18 may be provided attached to the second portion 16. In the embodiment shown, the strap 18 is connected at the second end 16b, however the strap 18 may connect to other areas of the second portion 16. The strap 18 may allow easy handling of the overlay 10. For example, the strap 18 may provide a convenient handhold by which to push/pull the second portion 16 through the aperture 104 in the massage table 102. The strap 18 may make it easier to place the overlay 10 in the correct position before use and make it easier to remove the overlay 10 after use. The strap 18 has been omitted from
The first 12 and second 16 portions are made of fabric. The strap 18, if present, may also be made of fabric—the strap 18 may be made from the same or different fabric as the fabric for the first and second portions, e.g. yarn, fibres, woven material, ribbon etc. A fabric is any cloth made from yarn or fibres by weaving, knitting, felting or the like. Many fabrics and garments are sufficiently robust to withstand repeated washing in a washing machine and such fabrics/garments are commonly called “machine washable” and will often be identified as such on a care label on the garment. By contrast, paper is generally not machine washable as, in a washing machine cycle, the cellulose structure will lose all structural integrity and fall apart and/or dissolve in the washing machine. Thus, paper is not considered “washable” or “machine washable” for this reason.
The fabric for the first and second portions may further comprise a third layer 34, as shown in
