Surgery: splint – brace – or bandage – Orthopedic bandage – Skeletal traction applicator
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-25
2001-04-17
Yu, Mickey (Department: 3764)
Surgery: splint, brace, or bandage
Orthopedic bandage
Skeletal traction applicator
C602S033000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06217538
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not applicable
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to passive cervical traction devices, and in particular to gravity-assisted occipital support and cervical stretching apparatus used during the administration of physical therapy.
Spinal cervical and thoracic disorders can result from trauma or from long-term life-style activities, or emotional stress. These conditions can cause cervical muscle tension/spasm, facet joint locking, ligament/capsule tightness and contracture, soft-tissue hypomobilities and arthritis. Conventional therapies include traction, manipulation, mobilization, therapeutic exercise, heat/cold therapy, ultra-sound and short-wave diathermy.
In one physical therapy treatment protocol, the patient rests in a semi-reclined position on a treatment table while cervical and thoracic flexion is applied manually by a physical therapist. During this procedure, the therapist's hands (the heels of his hands) engage the patient's occiput bilaterally, providing slight cervical/thoracic traction and stretch. The therapist rests his elbows in a slightly spread position on the treatment surface directly behind the patient's head. This technique has proven to be effective, but requires one-on-one attendance by a therapist. Additionally, it imposes a physical strain on the therapist, who is required to maintain his/her arms and hands in a spread apart, fixed position during the treatment session, which extends over a typical treatment period of five minutes.
Conventional traction devices can be categorized as clinical machines and home units. Typically, clinical machines are powered by electric, pneumatic or hydraulic means, and are used in the supine position. Home devices are used in either the supine or seated position (utilizing standard chairs found in the home such as a folding chair or kitchen chair) and are usually passive, usually relying on a suspended weight in one form or another.
Portable cervical traction devices have been developed as an aid to the therapist to provide for home treatment. These mechanical devices employ passive (gravity-assisted) supports for inducing a traction effect at the intervertebral joints (facet and/or disc) and stretching the patient's neck muscles, ligaments and other supporting tissues.
Conventional therapy devices include cervical traction machines which either require or avoid transmission of forces through the left and right temporomandibular joints (TMJ). One cervical traction machine utilizes a recliner chair with a head harness for achieving a desired degree of cervical or thoracic flexion while the patient is seated. The head harness used in most home traction kits require the transmission of force through the TMJ, which can be painful.
Other traction devices such as the Saunders cervical traction machine (U.S. Pat. No. Re. 32,791) includes adjustable wedges which avoid force through the TMJ. The flexion angle of the neck can be adjusted from 15°-25° in the supine position. However, the Saunders home device cannot be adjusted to include thoracic flexion and is relatively expensive.
Presently, there is no conventional device or appliance that is as effective as the manual treatment provided by a trained professional. One reason for this is the ability of the trained professional to continuously modify and adjust the manually applied stretch and traction force in response to feedback information received from the patient as the therapy progresses. Nevertheless, a need exists for a passive device which can be used by the therapist as an adjunct to manual treatment protocols. Moreover, a need also exists for a portable apparatus that can be used safely and effectively by a patient at home on an unsupervised outpatient basis during self-administered therapy for the relief of pain and muscle spasm reduction.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a portable, free-standing support frame for passively inducing cervical and thoracic flexion while maintaining traction. The patient assumes a static, semi-reclined position with the patient's upper torso and head being elevated and inclined with respect to the floor or other support surface. The support apparatus includes a free-standing frame with a base platform for placement on a floor or other stable surface, a head support frame that projects transversely with respect to the base platform and a head cradle with a V-shaped engagement block including edge portions extending transversely on opposite sides of the occipital center line for engaging the occiput. The head cradle is adjustably coupled to the head frame for holding the engagement block at a selected elevation above the base platform, which is determined by the length of the patient's torso.
According to this technique, most of the patient's body weight is supported by the floor or other support surface, with the weight of the patient's upper torso providing a gentle stretch/traction force maintained in cervical and thoracic flexion. The edge portions of the V-shaped engagement block of the head cradle are symmetrically arranged and slope away from the occipital center line to accommodate a wide range of head sizes.
The occipital engagement cradle can be quickly set-up, adjusted and supported at a desired elevation for maintaining a gentle, gravity-assisted cervical and thoracic flexion stretch/traction. After the initial set-up, the traction forces and flexion angle are adjusted by positioning the patient's pelvis and lower extremities away from or closer to the cradle. A therapeutic effect is produced by combining gravity with the angle of flexion along the cervical and thoracic spine, which results in the mild traction of intervertebral joints, muscle relaxation, and stretch of hypomobile tissues throughout the treatment region when performed statically.
The foregoing gravity-assisted, passive features are provided by the portable, free-standing support frame of the present invention which can be quickly erected to a stable, operative position for therapy. Its principal component parts are pivotally coupled so that it is expandable into the stable, upright service position and completely foldable and collapsible to a minimum profile configuration for storage, without requiring tools for set-up or conversion to the storage configuration.
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Griggs Dennis T.
Yu Justine R.
Yu Mickey
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