Surgery: splint – brace – or bandage – Orthopedic bandage – Splint or brace
Patent
1992-12-16
1995-02-28
Apley, Richard J.
Surgery: splint, brace, or bandage
Orthopedic bandage
Splint or brace
602 23, 602 28, A61F 500
Patent
active
053933036
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
Applicant hereby claims foreign priority benefits under 35 USC .sctn. 119 of corresponding Japanese Utility Model Application No. (Hei) 3-35234, filed Apr. 17, 1991, and Japanese PCT patent application Serial No. PCT/JP92/00489, filed Apr. 17, 1992.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an ankle brace which fixes and supports that portion of the leg and foot of a patient extending from the lower leg or shank portion to the foot for the purpose of providing medical treatment or preventing orthopedic problems pertaining to the bones, ligaments and so forth of the ankle joint. The fixation force applied by the brace can be adjusted in accordance with the degree necessary to treat a particular disorder and/or heal the same.
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
Of all the injuries giving rise to ankle joint pain, those which are experienced most frequently are sprains to the ankle joints. There are however various degrees of sprains extending from the simple sprain of a ligament to the rupture of a ligament accompanied by no avulsion of the bone to which the ligament attaches. Moreover, among the injuries to the ankle joint, the most serious ones are dislocation fractures. These injuries include various degrees of injury extending from such a degree of injury that the stability of the ankle joint is not affected to such a degree of injury that the ankle joint becomes seriously unstable. In case of a slight sprain of the ankle joint ligament, the range of motion of the inversion or eversion does not exceed the normal range but, in case of a serious sprain, the range of motion exceeds the normal range and, in case of a more serious sprain, even a drawer sign appears.
As for the method of treatment for these injuries, an elastic bandage, an adhesive tape, a supporter or the like is usually applied onto the ankle joint portion when the injury is slight so that, in daily life, a large burden is not placed on the ankle joint and, thus, the patient can make nimble movements.
In the case of a medium degree injury, pain or instability is caused in the ankle joint and, therefore, it is necessary to control the lateral sway, plantar flexion, dorsiflexion, adduction or abduction of the ankle joint. For the treatment of such injuries, a splint is applied to the ankle joint and fixed thereto by use of an elastic bandage. A neoprene supporter composed of stretch fabrics having a neoprene sponge held therebetween, or a plastic sheet-incorporated neoprene supporter composed by sewing plastic sheet-like L-shaped plates to both sides of the above-mentioned neoprene supporter may be applied. Similarly, a U-shaped brace as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,280,489 and 4,287,920 may also be used, the brace being constructed in such a manner that plastic plates are applied to both sides of the leg extending from the lower leg portion or shank to the heel of the foot, the width of the heel portion being adjusted by use of a Velcro or surface fastener, the lower leg portion being clamped and fixed at a suitable position by use of a surface fastener such as a VELCRO fastener after the appliance is mounted. Further, there has also been proposed an ankle brace constructed in such a manner that, to the neoprene supporter or the plastic sheet-incorporated neoprene supporter, a cross belt is mounted, the cross belt comprising a stretch belt which is extended from the sole portion or a side face of the foot so as to pass the instep of the foot and which can be spirally wound upwardly towards the lower leg in order to prevent the occurrance of an inversion or an eversion, the ankle brace being adapted to be either open in the front or in the rear in order to both facilitate the attachment of the brace to the ankle and to enhance its overall fitness.
Still further, there has been proposed an ankle joint splint (See Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 2-182252) constructed in such a manner that an outer plate is placed upright along the side face in front of the malleolus, and an inner plate is
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Alcare Co. Ltd.
Apley Richard J.
Dvorak Linda C. M.
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