The present invention relates to a back brace employing a lumbar belt and pulley-cord system in particular to such a system which is universally adjustable to accommodate patients with different waist sizes, i.e., one “size fits all”. The invention eliminates the need for a multitude of different belt sizes, while providing ease of installation, and a comfortable fit enabling a patient to wear the brace in compliance with a physician's orders.
Lumbar braces have been used for years to immobilize the back of a patient and properly align the back after an injury as a result of trauma or disease. Some lumber braces may also reduce the load to intervertebral discs by increasing the patient's intracavitary pressure. With respect to the patented art, see U.S. Pat. No. 7,186,229 which discloses a corset-type arrangement with left and right belt sections and a pulley-cord system to tighten the corset against the user's waist. The system is not only complicated but many different sizes would be needed to accommodate different waist sizes.
The same brace or a close cousin is advertised by cybertechmedical.com, along with a product sizing table illustrating that some 7 different sizes are needed to accommodate a population of users, i.e., small (24″-30″), medium (30″-35″), large (35″-40″), etc. Also see Re: 35,940, US 2020/0204630, US 2011/0262056, U.S. Pat. No. 6,755,799, U.S. Pat. No. 7,346,558, U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,724, U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,087, US 2010/0262056, U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,461, U.S. Pat. No. 6,962,572, U.S. Pat. No. 7,727,172, and US 2009/0192425.
There is a need for a lumbar brace which is easy to install, user friendly and in particular adjustable in length, thereby eliminating the need for a multitude of different sizes of braces and modular in the sense that accessories needed initially may be removed when no longer needed.
A universally adjustable lumbar brace, in accordance with the present invention, includes left and right belt sections, each section having a proximal and a distal end. The proximal ends are adapted to be wrapped around a patient's waist and secured together at the patient's front while the distal ends are connected together adjacent the patient's back via a pulley-cord-tightening system. The pulley-cord-tightening system (sometimes referred to herein as the “pulley-cord system”) allows the patient to grasp the cord(s), and with minimal effort pull the distal ends toward each other to tighten the belt sections around his/her waist, thus allowing for ease of manipulation even when the patient is suffering from debilitating and painful conditions. The reduction in the circumference of the belt causes an increase in the patient's intracavitiary pressure which reduces the load on the interverbral discs. The smaller intervertebral disc loads may promote an increase in disc height and a decrease of nervous tissue compression, leading to pain relief and an increase in comfort.
To achieve a “one size fits all” brace, each belt section is provided with sufficient free length, i.e., the length between the proximal and distal end when wrapped around a patient's waist, to accommodate a wide variety of waist sizes. An individual securing flap is affixed to the distal end of each belt section and extends forwardly toward the proximal end over a portion of the respective belt section. The anterior surfaces or faces of the securing flaps and posterior surfaces of or faces of the belt section having cooperating hook and loop fasteners to allow a selected portion of each belt section to be folded back over an adjacent portion and secured in place by the securing flap. The extended free belt length, in conjunction with the foldable flap feature and the securing flap, helps cut health care costs by (1) enabling the brace to accommodate the waist sizes of a large population of patients, greatly reducing the normally required inventory. and (2) avoiding the need for a different brace as the healing process occurs.
The pulley-cord-tightening system defines an imaginary vertical reference line with each belt section preferably defining a plurality of vertically oriented segments, i.e., extending parallel to the reference line. The segments are designed to selectively overlap each other when folded. Preferably the pulley-cord system comprises a pair of rigid-pulley-bearing plates with each plate mounted adjacent the distal end of a respective belt. A pair of cords, interleaved between the pulleys, are connected to a pair of pull handles in a conventional manner.
Preferably, the brace includes a back panel releasably connecting the distal ends of the belt sections together. In addition to the adjustability of the free length of the belt sections, the present invention provides a modular approach in the form of 1) a detachable semi-lumbar-sacral-posterior-rigid-support member (hereinafter “lumber-support member”) that provides sagittal-coronal support for the patient initially and can be removed when no longer needed and 2) removable semi-rigid-lateral panels that provide lateral support. These additional features take advantage of the conventional belt-tightening-pulley-cord system to conform to the patient's body, thereby increasing the brace's correctional support and comfort to the patient. Padding may also be used to minimize stresses to any soft tissue that comes in contact with the brace. The modularity of the brace is important because the patients and their health care providers can remove or add the modular components as the healing process progresses; this in turn increases the patient's compliance since bulk can be reduced as the patient needs less support.
a and 3b are posterior unassembled views of the left and right belt sections of the brace of
c is a top view of a portion of the belt section of
a and 4b are anterior views of the left and right belt sections;
a and 6b are posterior views of the left and right belt sections assembled with pulley-carrying plates;
a and 7b are posterior and anterior views, respectively, of a back panel for use to secure the distal ends of the belt sections together;
a and 9b are posterior views of an assembled brace showing the pulley-cord system in a relaxed position (
a and 11b are assembled braces in a fully extended condition (
c is a blown up view of the circled portion of the left belt section of
a and 12b are a side view of the right belt section and an enlarged view of a portion of the section, respectively, illustrating how the folding procedure can reduce the free length of the section in specified increments;
a and 13b are posterior and side elevational views, respectively, of a detachable-lumber-support member which may be incorporated into the brace.
a and 14b are posterior and anterior views, respectively, of lateral- support panels which may be incorporated into the brace, as illustrated in
a and 15b are top and anterior views of the brace with the lumbar-support and lateral panels in place.
Referring now to
a and 3b are posterior views of the left and right belt sections showing reinforced planar-pulley-receiving-rectangular portions 12c and 14c located adjacent the distal ends of the respective belt sections. Posts 12d and 14d extend outwardly from the rectangular portions 12c and 14e, as shown more particularly in FIG. 3c, a top view of the left belt section. Each belt section defines a plurality of vertically oriented, i.e., parallel to the reference line, foldable segments 12f and 14f. These segments can be folded back against an adjacent segment or segments to shorten the free length of a respective belt section, as will be explained. The posterior surfaces or faces of the belt sections, including the segments, are formed with Velcro-type loops to be engaged with cooperating hooks formed on the anterior surfaces of the securing flaps 12g and 14g. The flaps 12g and 14g extend forwardly from the pulley-receiving portions 12c and 14c and over the adjacent segment(s), as will be explained. Velcro is a trademark of Velcro USA, Inc. Straps 12h and 14h, located at the proximal end of the belt section, are provided for the convenience of a patient in putting the brace on.
Referring now to
a and 6b show the separate belt sections with the pulley-bearing plates installed.
a and 7b show a back panel for connecting the belt sections together. It is to be noted that the areas 26a (on the posterior side) are formed with loop fastener elements for cooperating with the hook elements 12j and 14j of the belt sections. The area 26b is also formed with loop fastener elements to engage the hook fastener elements on a removable lumbar-support panel to be discussed. It is to be noted that cross hatching the loop fastener elements is shown only for the back panel to preserve clarity in the drawings. The back panel , like the pulley-cord system, also defines the vertical reference line y-y.
a and 9b show the belt sections received in a relaxed extended condition and in a tightening condition, respectively.
a and 11b show (in a top view) the assembled belt in an extended condition (to fit a very large waist) and in a retracted condition (to fit a small waist), respectively. The accessories items, i.e., the lumbar support 16 and the lateral supports 18 are also shown in place,
c shows, in an extended view, the overlapping arrangement of the individual segments 12f and the securing flap 12g.
a and 12b illustrate, as an example, how individual segments measuring one inch each can be employed to provide 2 inch increments in the shortening of the belt sections, i.e., resulting in 8 total inches for each belt section.
a and 13b illustrate a posterior side view and the removable lumbar-support panel member 16, respectively. The member has a lordotic curvature 16b in the lower portion to provide proper spine support and openings 16f to increase air circulation. See
Referring now to
a and 16b show a top and an anterior view of the assembled brace including the lumbar support and lateral support members in place. The adjustable belt members may be made of nylon or polyester covering a PU foam filling. The lumber support may be made of nylon.
There has been described a modular lumbar brace with detachable lumber and lateral support members and left and right belt sections which rely on foldable segments for length adjustment to accommodate a large population of patients while taking advantage of a conventional pulley-cord-tightening system to provide an easy to use “one size fits all” lumbar support system. Various modifications may occur to those skilled in the art without involving a departure from the spirit and scope of our invention as defined in the appended claims.
This application is based on and claims priority of our U.S. provisional application No. 61832658, filed on Jun. 7, 2013, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61832658 | Jun 2013 | US |