Surgery – Instruments – External pressure applicator
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-20
2001-11-13
Yu, Justine R. (Department: 3764)
Surgery
Instruments
External pressure applicator
C036S145000, C036S154000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06315786
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel orthotic device for use in relieving heel pain. In particular, the present invention relates to an orthotic device involving the continuous placement of pressure to a certain area of the foot in order to alleviate pain resulting from Plantar Fasciitis.
2. Description of the Related Art
Plantar Fasciitis is the most common cause of heel pain, debilitating countless people of both active and sedentary lifestyles. The condition is caused by overstressing and subsequent inflammation of the plantar fascia, which is the dense, fibrous sheath of muscle tissue located longitudinally on the bottom of the foot, stretching from the calcaneus bone at the rear of the foot to the metatarsal heads leading to the toes in the front of the foot. Heel spurs, which consist of calcinaceous deposits that grow on the front of the calcaneus and point into the plantar fascia, can exacerbate the pain to an unbearable extent. Patents's complaints of heel pain often originate in the first step they take out of the bed in the morning, when the plantar fascia is stretched violently out of the natural contraction that occurs during a state of sleep. This pain may ease gradually throughout the day, only to return the next morning.
Sufferers of heel pain due to Plantar Fasciitis and/or heel spur commonly seek treatment through physical therapy, corticosteroid drugs, surgical procedures, and a myriad of orthotic devices, cushions, and gels. The complexity of treating this ailment is supplemented by other biomechanical factors, such as pronation (rolling in of the feet), supination (rolling out of the feet), weakened ankles, extra body weight, improper footwear, loss of the body's natural shock absorbers, flattened or dropped arches, and weakened high arches.
The prior art includes several orthotic devices intended to treat heel pain of various types. Devices exist to hold, immobilize, and/or support the heel and/or leg of the user. Patents have been issued for inventions that involve L-shaped leg braces with various immobilization features, elastic footwraps which provide compressive forces on the bottom of the foot, and orthotic insoles to be worn with shoes for arch support and heel cushioning. The existing devices claim to alleviate heel pain by cushioning and cradling the heel, applying accupressure to various foot locations using gel platforms, and placing a softer material surrounded by a more resilient one to treat pain originating from the calcaneous. While these devices provide some temporary relief, they have not typically resulted in a pain-free experience for patients. There is, therefor, a need for a device and method of treatment which relieves the pain associated with Plantar Fasciitis to a greater extent than is provided by current treatment protocols.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The inventor's experiences as a podiatrist treating patients led to the discovery that accupressure applied at the calcaneous-midtarsal connection on the bottom of the foot temporarily alleviated the pain associated with Plantar Fasciitis. The calcaneous-midtarsal connection is the point on the bottom of the foot where the heel meets the arch. Further, the inventor discovered that accupressure continually applied to this location, using a specially constructed orthotic device, could provide the key to pain relief, as indicated by many patient trials, often resulting in a completely pain-free experience for many patients.
While standard orthotic inserts often comprise a flexible heel cup, the present invention provides heel pain relief associated with Plantar Fasciitis using a raised bar which extends above the surface of such a standard orthotic insert. This “Fasciitis bar” extends laterally across the sole portion of the cup, in a position located beneath the calcaneous-midtarsal connection of the foot when the orthotic device is worn. The flexible heel cup serves to locate the Fasciitis bar in precisely the proper location to apply moderate accupressure force when the patient walks or stands.
Made of a resilient, dense material, the Fasciitis bar provides sufficient accupressure to the calcaneous-midtarsal connection to stretch the plantar fascial tissues and prevent collapse of the calcaneal bone, thus relieving pain. The Fasciitis bar places the center of accupressure mid-way across the width of the patient's foot. This is distinct from the arch support portion of standard orthotics, which apply upward pressure against the inside of the patient's foot, further forward toward the ball of the foot. In fact, the Fasciitis bar of the present invention is located to provide pressure between the heel and the arch of the foot, along the centerline of the foot.
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The Foot,Gray's Anatomy, pp. 199-201.
Muscles and Fasciae of the Foot,Gray's Anatomy, pp. 442-451.
Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP
Partnership of Arthur H. Smuckler, James Grimes, Niko Efstathiou
Yu Justine R.
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