Patent Application
20200275783
It is often necessary or recommended for individuals to immobilize parts of their bodies after undergoing surgical procedures or recovering from certain injuries. One of the most common procedures that require such immobilization is rotator cuff shoulder surgery. The recovery period for rotator cuff surgery includes a protective phase beginning immediately after surgery and lasting between four to eight weeks, depending on the surgeon. During this protective phase, the surgeon wants to prevent any active movement of the glenohumeral joint (GHJ) because such movement could lead to disruption of the repair. While various support pillows and slings exist to help immobilize the shoulder, individuals find these existing pillows and slings to be cumbersome, uncomfortable, and ineffective at immobilizing the shoulder. In fact, individuals find that it is nearly impossible to sleep comfortably even in their own bed for weeks and even months after their surgery because any light stretch, stress, or tension on any of the capsular structures, or rotator cuff tendons can cause pain, preventing the individual from relaxing.
There exists a need for a support pillow or apparatus that is configured to enable an individual to lye in a supine position and rest comfortably while maintaining GHJ neutral. As used herein, “neutral position” refers to positioning the GHJ joint at approximately 55° abduction, 30° horizontal adduction, and neutral rotation. This neutral position is sometimes referred to as the “open pack” position by surgeons and physical therapists. It is the most optimal position for the shoulder to be in while healing from injury or surgery because it places all of the RTC tendons, joint capsule, and ligament structures in their most “slack” position.
Current designs for pillows and slings are not effective in placing the shoulder in a neutral position to aid in healing. These current designs are also not effective in helping an individual sleep or rest and are often bulky, uncomfortable, and cumbersome to wear or use. Individuals are forced to try to arrange and shape bed pillows into a supportive position in an attempt to achieve a neutral and comfortable position. This approach is not an effective, reliable, or clinically accurate means for individuals to achieve a neutral position after surgery or injury, promote healing and recovery, and rest comfortably while on their backs.
The present disclosure provides for a support apparatus for positioning an individual's arm while the individual is lying on their back in a supine position. The support apparatus comprises a first portion which is designed to rest across the midsection of an individual's body and a second portion which is designed to rest alongside the individual's upper body. A top surface of at least one of the first portion and the second portion may be indented to receive various parts of the individual's arm. A bottom surface of the first portion may also be indented to permit the first portion to comfortably rest on top of the individual. A bottom surface of the second portion may be flat to make contact with the bed, couch, chair, floor, or other surface upon which the individual is laying and stabilize the support apparatus.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
In the drawings:
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.
The present disclosure provides for a support apparatus designed to position an individual's arm so that the shoulder is in a neutral position while the individual is lying down in a supine position. As stated above, this critical neutral position is achieved by securing the shoulder in a position of 55° abduction, 30° horizontal adduction, and neutral rotation. It is contemplated that this support apparatus be comprised of a foam material or other similar material that is strong enough to provide support but flexible and light enough to ensure the individual is comfortable and can easily transport the support apparatus. One embodiment of such a support apparatus is illustrated in
A second portion 120 of the support apparatus 100 is configured to rest alongside of an individual's upper body. This section portion 120 may also comprise a top surface 130(b) and a bottom surface 135(b). The top surface 130(b) may be indented to receive a portion of the individual's arm, for example the upper portion of the arm, such as from the shoulder to the elbow.
The bottom surface 135(b) of the section portion 120 is intended to provide stability and support to the support apparatus 100 and therefore is designed to rest on top of a bed, chair, or other surface the individual is lying on.
In one embodiment, illustrated by
Another optional feature of the Support Device 100 is illustrated in
Other design features are apparent in
As can be seen from the figure, the indentation is deep and wide enough to ensure the walled sides are of sufficient height and width to serve as a sufficient barrier to prevent an individual's arm sliding off the support apparatus. This is a significant improvement over the support pillows of the prior art that have no mechanism for preventing an individual's arm from sliding. Therefore the support device of the present disclosure holds potential for reducing or eliminating the pain and potential re-injury that comes from such sliding, especially while the individual is asleep and not actively holding their arm in position by themselves.
The table below provides exemplary measurements that may constitute one embodiment of the support apparatus of the present disclosure. These measurements are provided for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as to otherwise limit the potential embodiments of the support apparatus to the extent the same are successful in achieving the natural position of the should as discussed above.
The support apparatus of the present disclosure is unique in that it positions the shoulder, and in particular the glenohumeral joint, in a neutral position. Such a position not only enables the individual to relax, but also maintains proper positioning of the shoulder to promote healing and recovery after surgery or injury. Due to the complexity of the shoulder, and the glenohumeral joint in particular, current pillow and sling designs fail to simultaneously achieve both proper positioning of the shoulder and relaxation for the individual. The support apparatus disclosed herein overcomes the limitations of the prior art by providing a novel design that achieves both a neutral shoulder position and a position that is comfortable enough for an individual to sleep or rest lying down. Such a design enables the individual to sleep or rest in their own bed without any other modifications or pillows. This is a great improvement over current pillow and sling designs which require an individual to sleep or rest in a chair which is not only uncomfortable but also risks the shoulder falling out of proper positioning.
The present disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes of the disclosure. Accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than the foregoing specification, as indicating the scope of the disclosure. Although the foregoing description is directed to the embodiments of the disclosure, it is noted that other variations and modification will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure.
