Surgery: splint – brace – or bandage – Orthopedic bandage – Skeletal traction applicator
Patent
1995-07-11
1997-12-16
Dvorak, Linda C.
Surgery: splint, brace, or bandage
Orthopedic bandage
Skeletal traction applicator
602 32, 602 36, 602 17, 602 18, A61F 500
Patent
active
056978944
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention comprises a method and apparatus for the application of traction or compression force to the patient in the treatment of an injured or diseased part of the musculoskeletal system. The invention especially relates to a method and apparatus by which a predetermined traction force can be applied to the patient's cervical spine and maintained unchanged even if the patient's position deviates from the horizontal position.
Particularly diving and road accidents often lead to fractures of the victim's cervical spine caused by the compression or torsion forces acting on the cervical spine. In such accidents the vertebra has been injured or damaged in such manner that requires head traction in the treatment.
In certain kinds of cervical spine injuries it is possible to apply traction force to the patient's cervical spine by putting a halo vest device on the patient. The halo vest device has a frame resting on the patient's body, which frame is attached by four support rods to a halo ring secured to the patient's head by pins. FIGS. 5A to 5C represent such a halo vest device. With the help of the threads and locking systems of the rods the desired amount of force can be applied between the supporting structure and the halo ring.
If the patient suffers quadriplegia after an accident, the halo vest device described above cannot be applied due to the risk of pressure sores. One treatment method for such patients is to apply classical head traction. In head traction an arc is secured to the patient's head by pins while the patient is lying in the horizontal position, and a traction force is applied to a wire attached to this arc by attaching weights to the descending end of the wire passing over the sheave. The force applied to the patient's cervical spine is regulated by adjusting the amount of weights.
There are several disadvantages in the above-described head traction. The apparatus used is not accurately adjustable and takes up a lot of space with its auxiliary frame. Above all it is inconvenient for the patient and for the nursing staff. The use of the apparatus requires that the patient stays in bed lying on his/her back in a horizontal position for several weeks, even for months. This impairs the patient's physical and mental health. The blood circulation, metabolism and functioning of the intestines suffer especially from the prolonged lying in a horizontal position. The horizontal position also makes nursing the patient, e.g. feeding, washing and physiotherapy very strenuous and time consuming.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The aim of the present invention is to eliminate the above problems and shortcomings and to present a new method and apparatus for the application of traction or compression force to the patient in the treatment of an injured or diseased part of the musculoskeletal system. The invention relates especially to a method and apparatus by which a predetermined traction force can be applied to the patient's cervical spine and maintained unchanged even if the patient's position deviates from the horizontal position.
The object of the invention thus comprises a method for the application of traction or compression force to the patient in the treatment of an injured or diseased part of the musculoskeletal system, in which a point (b) is situated on the first side of the part to be treated and a point (a) on the opposite side of the part to be treated, (a) being mobile with respect to the point (b), and in which method an essentially constant amount of traction or compression force F.sub.O is applied to the part L between the points (a) and (b). It is characteristic of the method relating to the invention that the point (a) is connected by at least one connecting element R to the point (p) and that such force F.sub.R is applied to the connecting element R that it maintains the above-mentioned constant amount of force F.sub.O and compensates any changes in the force acting on the part treated arising from changed angles between the part treated an
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Gullichsen Eero
Sipola Esa
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