Exercise devices – Isometric
Reexamination Certificate
1995-08-30
2001-10-02
Yu, Mickey (Department: 3764)
Exercise devices
Isometric
C482S008000, C601S034000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06296595
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to ambulatory orthopedic restraining devices such as casts, braces and the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is known that both muscles and bones should be exercised to maintain strength. It is also known that healing fractures, exposed to permissible weight bearing stress, often heal more predictably and more rapidly than fractures which are not stressed at all. This is probably also true for connective tissues, such as ligaments and particular cartilage.
When an individual sustains a physical injury which involves damage to bones, muscle tissue, connective tissue or the like, the physician treating the individual will make a determination as to whether exercise will be allowed. The physician will allow exercise if the physician can obtain assurances that the exercise will be performed in a controlled manner within specific parameters wherein the injured bone and/or tissue will remain stable. Unfortunately, however, the physician is generally unable to obtain adequate information or assurances about the manner in which a particular patient will conduct prescribed exercise. Furthermore, because the physician is also unable to obtain adequate feedback after the patient performs any specific prescribed exercise, the physician generally does not feel he or she has sufficient access to information about the exercise to permit or recommend anything but the most basic exercise. Without some way to obtain information about exercise events, the physician cannot maintain sufficient control of the exercise. The physician does not know how much stress the patient can or will exert voluntarily, and does not know how well the patient will adhere to a schedule of repetitive exercise events.
Since the physician is not able to obtain adequate feedback regarding the patient's exercise, the most prudent course of action for the physician is to limit the amount of exercise which the patient is allowed to perform by immobilizing the portions of the body proximate the injury. This is often accomplished by using a cast which is the simplest and crudest method of protecting an injury. The cast allows virtually no movement at all and is widely used to insure against reinjuries. Unfortunately, this method of protecting the injury often does not provide adequate means for exercising the body portions proximate the injury. For instance, a cast is often not strong enough, without additional reinforcement, to permit isometric exercising. Furthermore, casts are not equipped to provide feedback to the physician or the patient with respect to any exercising.
Accordingly, a need exists for a personal orthopedic restraining device which will permit and encourage a range of exercise during rehabilitation and provide sufficient feedback to the prescribing physician to allow the physician to evaluate the patient's progress in regard to the exercise the physician has prescribed. A need also exists for a personal restraining device which is equipped to give the patient immediate feedback respecting exercise events. Although it has been known that exercise is helpful in rehabilitating patients and others having orthopedic disabilities, inadequacies, or the like, adequate devices for methods of restraining respective body parts and monitoring the exercise thereof have not been provided which adequately address this problem.
The present invention provides a solution to these and other problems, and offers other advantages over the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, a novel orthopedic restraining device is now proposed. The present invention provides a personal orthopedic restraining device for use to restrain flexibly connected body portions of an individual. The present restraining device comprises an ambulatory housing, including first and second distal end portions, and restraining means for restraining movement of said first and second distal end portions relative to one another. Each of the respective distal end portions is configured to receive flexibly connected body portions of the individual, whereby movement of the respective body portions relative to one another can be restrained by the housing. The present restraining device also comprises stress sensing means for sensing stress on said restraining means and stress indicating means for indicating a quantitative stress value based upon an output from said stress sensing means. Said stress sensing means is attached to said restraining means and said stress indicating means is interconnected with said stress sensing means for receiving the output from said stress sensing means. In preferred embodiments, said restraining means include an elongated restraining bar having first and second distal end sections, wherein said first and second distal end sections are fixedly secured to said first and second distal end portions of the housing, respectively. In the most preferred devices, the restraining device is preferably an ambulatory appliance which can be worn by the individual to prevent specific movements of respective body portions restrained thereby. Certain stress placed upon said restraining means can be monitored with said indicating means. Preferably, the present restraining device further includes recording means for recording an output from said stress sensing means, wherein said recording means is interconnected with said stress sensing means for receiving the output from said stress sensing means. A preferred restraining device of the present invention further includes control means including said indicating means and said recording means and being interconnected with said stress sensing means for receiving the output from said stress sensing means. Preferably, said control means further include microprocessor means for processing outputs from said stress sensing means. The elongated restraining bar can include an adjustable hinge interconnecting said distal end sections, wherein the angular position of the respective distal end sections can be adjusted relative to one another. In preferred embodiments, the adjustable hinge includes position sensing means for sensing the relative angular position of the first and second distal end sections. In certain preferred embodiments, the adjustable hinge is an electromechanical hinge and the restraining device includes control means interconnected with said stress sensing means and said position sensing means for receiving outputs therefrom. Preferably, said control means further include recording means for recording outputs from said stress sensing means and said positioning sensing means. Said stress sensing means preferably include a strain gauge, more preferably a plurality of strain gauges, attached to said restraining means, preferably attached to the elongated restraining bar. In a preferred embodiment, stress sensing means include four strain gauges attached to the elongated restraining bar and being interconnected with one another in a wheatstone bridge circuit arrangement. Preferably, the present restraining device will have two elongated restraining bars disposed on opposite sides of the flexibly connected body portions when the housing is engaged therewith.
Alternate embodiments of the present invention provide methods of rehabilitating or conditioning an individual having orthopedic or musculoskeletal disabilities or deficits and of monitoring and regulating patient musculoskeletal rehabilitation and/or conditioning. Each of these methods preferably comprise the steps of providing a preferred restraining device of the present invention, engaging flexibly connected body portions in the device and exercising, or requesting the individual to exercise, the respective flexibly connected body portions by exerting a measurable force against said restraining means. Further steps including monitoring stress placed upon said restraining means. In preferred embodiments of the present method claims, the step of providing includes providing a preferred restraining device including an elongated restraining bar having an incrementall
Lund Richard G.
Nelson Cecil H.
Rogers Brynn D
Stark John G.
Dardi Peter S.
IZEX Technologies, Inc.
Koo Benjamin K.
Westerman, Champlin & Kelly
Yu Mickey
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