This invention relates to a support which treats and protects the shoulder and arm of a person for numerous orthopedic conditions, following surgery or injury to the area. More particularly, this invention relates to an adjustable shoulder and arm support that provides rehabilitation through continuous passive motion, stations of abduction, and static positioning. More specifically, this invention relates to a bilateral and universal shoulder and arm support which may be used to assist the patient throughout the recovery process by providing a combination of customizable treatment options that address the various phases of the recovery and rehabilitation process.
The customary method for supporting the arm and shoulder of a person following an injury or surgery is to provide the patient with a sling which supports the shoulder against the body in a static position. Another option is to use a static shoulder abduction pillow, otherwise referred to as an immobilizer, which holds the arm away from the body in a fixed position and degree of abduction. These devices are insufficient for various indications, or surgical repairs, specifically because they keep the shoulder in a fixed position and are not adjustable to meet the specific needs of the patient. Following a shoulder injury or surgery, the post-operative positioning and position of comfort are extremely variable from patient to patient and from indication to indication. Prior art devices are not adjustable to provide support to the arm and shoulder in various degrees of abduction. The fact that the support holds the arm in a fixed position, increases the likelihood that the patient will develop adhesive capsulitis, or frozen shoulder, a significant complication following a shoulder injury or surgery. The less opportunity the patient has for movement, the greater risk of adhesive capsulitis.
Further, the prior art devices are not able to create continuous passive motion of the shoulder from 20 degrees of abduction to 90 degrees of abduction.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that is further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key aspects or essential aspects of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, this summary is not intended for use as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
The shoulder and arm support of this invention include a main body, or case, that can be worn bilaterally. The case, made of fleece or loop fabric, is formed by an upstanding inner panel having a curved inner side so as to conform to the side of the patient, an upstanding first and second side panels which extend outwardly from the sides of the inner panel, a horizontally disposed bottom panel, and a flat vertical back panel which connects to a bottom upstanding inner panel allowing space for a removable support member. The bottom horizontal panel houses a port providing an opening for a power cord and hand-held controller cord. The first and second side panels, of the bottom upstanding inner side panel, house two strips of hook fabric of a hook-and-loop fastener system. Together these form a compartment which houses a resilient polyurethane cushion.
A removable support member, made of loop or fleece fabric, is comprised of an inner panel having a curved inner side so as to conform to the side of the patient, first and second side panels which extend outwardly from the sides of the inner panel, a horizontally disposed bottom panel, and an outer back panel. Together, these create a compartment, or case, which hosts a resilient polyurethane cushion, that conforms to the side of the patient. The removable support member attaches to the hook fabric of the flat vertical back panel as well as the hook fabric located on the bottom upstanding inner side panel of the case.
The case also includes a horizontally-disposed upper panel which is secured to the upper ends of the inner panel, the first side panel, and the second side panel. The case further includes an outer panel which has its upper-end pivotally secured to the outer end of the end of the upper panel whereby the outer panel is pivotally movable between first and second positions. A flexible bellow, made of polyester or spandex, is provided and secured to the outer end of the bottom panel, the outer ends of the first and second side panels, and to the outer panel by stitching and the like.
The inner panel, the first side panel and the second side panel together with the bottom panel define an interior compartment which is closed by the bellow and the outer panel which houses a resilient foam cushion.
Multiple inflatable bladders comprise the bladder system and are positioned inside the bellow. The bladders, made of thermoplastic polyurethane, are configured to be moved between a collapsed and inflated position. The bladder system, upon being moved between its collapsed position and the inflated position, causes the outer panel to be moved from its first position towards its second position of abduction and returns to its first position, continuously within a therapy session. First and second positions of abduction include 20°, 45°, 60°, 75°, and 90°. In another embodiment, abduction extends beyond 90°. Timed therapy sessions can be customized at 15, 30 or 45 minutes based on the phase of the rehabilitation process. In another embodiment, the time intervals include alternative time intervals.
The outer panel, when in its first position, is disposed at a 20° of abduction with respect to vertical. In an additional embodiment, the first position of abduction can be customized to the physician's preferred degree of abduction and could include the range of 20° to 90° of abduction and beyond. The outer panel, when in its second position, is disposed of in a plane of about 90° or more with respect to vertical. The bladder system may be inflated to move the outer panel from its first position to its second position or may be used to continuously inflate or deflate the bladder system so that the upper panel is continuously moved between its first and second positions to rehabilitate the patient's shoulder.
A pump, used to inflate the bladder system, is positioned inside the bellow. An air hose connects the pump to the bladder system, allowing air to travel from the pump to the bladder system and cause it to inflate. The bladder system automatically deflates upon the completion of the therapy session or can be manually deflated using the deflation valve located on the side panels of the main case. In an additional embodiment, the deflation valve could be located in a different location on the shoulder and arm support and could be referred to as a pressure release valve, relief valve or safety release valve. A hand-held controller cord runs from the pump out the horizontal bottom panel through a port and attaches to a hand-held controller. The hand-held controller, made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene plastic, houses a push-button for power, push-buttons for selecting the customized degrees of abduction, and push-buttons for selecting the length of the therapy session. When not in use, the hand-held controller is housed in a controller pouch which is attached to the first and second side panels. A power cord, attached to the pump, also runs through the port and connects to a power source. In an additional embodiment, the hand-held controller could be wireless.
The outer panel houses a horizontal strip of hook fabric of the hook-and-loop fastener system. A sling used to reduce the weight-bearing load after injury, made of fleece or loop fabric and attaches to the hook fabric on the outer panel of the case. A length-adjustable sling strap is attached to the sling pocket through D-rings. The sling hosts a thumb loop and a detachable hand support which prevents migration and provides support for the hand, arm, and shoulder of the patient by securing the arm and shoulder to the exterior surface of the outer panel. The sling is bilateral and accommodates various arm sizes, making it universal. In an additional embodiment, the sling is made of mesh material. The detachable hand support can also be attached to the removable support member or the case.
In another embodiment the exterior surface of the outer panel has a plurality of arm supports secured thereto. The arm supports are adjustably secured to the exterior surface of the outer panel to accommodate different arm sizes and to enable the device to be used to support either the left shoulder and arm or the right shoulder and arm of the patient.
A length adjustable shoulder strap, which houses a shoulder pad, provides comfort and is secured to the first and second side panels of the case through circular clips by stitching or the like.
Alignment brand marks span across both the first and second side panels of the upstanding inner panel and of the removable support member's upstanding inner panel. These marks provide assembly guides to the patient when attaching the removable support member to the case of the shoulder and arm support.
A large D-ring is attached to the first and second side panels of the removable support member allowing a length adjustable support strap to enclose the waist and secure the shoulder and arm support to the patient. The length adjustable support strap houses a buckle.
The indications for this shoulder and arm support include rotator cuff repairs, Bankart lesion, superior labrum anterior-posterior (SLAP) repair, impingement syndrome shoulder, adhesive capsulitis, reverse total shoulder replacement, shoulder replacement, capsular plication, rotator cuff tendonitis, calcific rotator cuff tendonitis, capsular release, labrum repair, subacromial bursectomy and decompression, and open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) of a proximal humerus fracture, among others.
The shoulder and arm support disclosed can be used across the rehabilitation process by separating the components based on the patient's need. This 3-in-1 arm and shoulder support can be worn as an individual sling, as a sling attached to the removable support member creating an immobilizer, or as previously disclosed comprising: the case, removable support member, and the sling, attached and complete.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The preferred embodiment of the materials used to make the shoulder and arm support are disclosed. This material is readily available, and those of skill in the art are familiar with working with such materials. Other materials are available that would be suitable for alternative embodiments of the subject matter of the disclosure. Examples are cotton or cotton blended fleece, polyester fleece, lycra spandex fleece, Microfleece or any other similar materials. Those in the art will understand that in any suitable material, now known or hereafter developed, may be used in forming the shoulder and arm support described herein.
Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified.
Embodiments are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying figures, which form a part hereof and show, by way of illustration, specific exemplary embodiments. These embodiments are disclosed in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. However, embodiments may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense in that the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.
The numeral 10 refers to the shoulder and arm support of this invention which is designed to be used at either side of a person 12 having a shoulder 14, upper arm 16, lower arm 18 and hand 20 as seen in
The shoulder and arm support 10 includes a case 22 which includes a horizontal bottom panel 24 having a curved inner bottom end 79, a first side panel 28, a second side panel 30, and a top panel 64. Case 22 also includes an upstanding first side panel 34, and an upstanding second side panel 35, both having an upper end 36, an outer end 40, a lower end 38 and an inner end 42, as seen in
Case 22 further includes an outer panel 54, as seen in
The top panel 64, of the case 22, has a curved inner end 66, an outer end 68, a first side top end 70, and a second side top end 72 as seen in
The case 22, as seen in
The bottom horizontal panel 24 also houses a port 196 which allows an opening for power cord 194 and a hand-held controller cord 195 to pass through, as seen in
A deflation valve 132 is located on the first side panel 28 and a second deflation valve 136 is located on the second side panel 30, as seen in
The bladder system 110, as seen in
Although the preferred embodiment depicted in
The bellow 77, as seen in
A contoured rigid plate 102, as seen in
An air hose system 120, as seen in
The bladder system 110, upon being moved between its collapsed position and the inflated position, causes the outer panel 54 to be moved from its first position towards its second position of abduction. Positions of abduction include 20°, 45°, 60°, 75°, 90° and beyond. A pump 186 allows for continuous variable timed therapy sessions customized to the patient and the rehabilitation process.
The pump, 186 located inside the bellow 77, is operated by a hand-held controller 190 to inflate and deflate the bladder system 110, as seen in
A power cord 194 connects to the pump 186 and travels through the port 196. The cord 194 houses a female receptor 192 which connects to the male power cord connector 197 of the power cord 200 which connects to a source of power, as seen in
Circular clips 156 and 160 are secured to the side panels 28 and 30 of case 22 respectively and are used to connect a length adjustable shoulder strap 164 to the case 22 as seen in
A removable support member 198, as seen in
D-ring connectors 158 and 162, as seen in
A sling 180, as seen in
Split alignment brand marks 202, as seen in
The advantages of the present invention are numerous. First, the instant invention can create continuous passive motion of the shoulder from 20 degrees of abduction to over 90 degrees of abduction thereby decreasing the risk of adhesive capsulitis and to promote better physiological healing. The device of this invention can also be used in a fixed position for comfort or protection of a surgical repair that is better suited by a customized, static position.
Thus, it can be seen that the invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives. Although the invention has been described in language that is specific to certain structures and methodological steps, it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific structures and/or steps described. Rather, the specific aspects and steps are described as forms of implementing the claimed invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be practiced without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15155468 | May 2016 | US |
Child | 15944897 | US |