CH717075A2 - Molded part for neuromuscular therapy. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a molded part (1) for neuromuscular therapy, the molded part (1) being a body with a flat bottom surface and an outer contour, in particular in the form of a cone, an ellipsoid with a molded part tip, a tetrahedron or a pyramid with equilateral side triangles with a height is, wherein the molding tip acts as a treatment tip (BS) for treating a body part to be treated, wherein the molding (1) comprises a polymer matrix or formulation, in particular in the form of a rigid foam, and that the molding (1) has a Shore C hardness between 40 and 90, more preferably between 45 and 70, very particularly preferably 60, which expands the application possibilities for neuromuscular therapy. This is achieved in that an adhesive layer (2) made of foam, silicone or rubber is arranged on the base of the molded part (1) opposite the contact tip (BS).

Description

Technical area

The present invention relates to the field of neuromuscular therapy by applying a point pressure to a body part to be treated.

State of the art

Many people suffer from muscle pain, stiffness and tension. This is often caused by a variety of factors such as direct injury or trauma, overuse, poor posture, or stress.

Neuromuscular therapies (also known as “myofascial trigger point therapy”) for personal use have been known for a long time. An attempt is made to build up pressure on the tense muscle or the locally painful myofascial network by means of a suitably designed molded part or device. The associated solution or relaxation of the affected area leads to normal and painless functioning of the muscles.

The term “neuromuscular therapy” is used in this context as an umbrella term for all forms of therapy in which an attempt is made to release tense muscles by stimulating the painful muscle area or the relevant trigger points. The stimulation is carried out by applying pressure to the treated area of the body. It has been observed that this eases the pain in the affected muscle area.

Another recognized method for treating such complaints is massage therapy. Massage techniques aimed at this problem were developed, which allow a focused massage treatment of a specific muscle and are carried out by appropriately trained professionals. The regular implementation of such massage therapy by appropriately trained professionals is, however, associated with fairly high costs. For this reason, it is desirable that a suitable device is available with which such a massage therapy can be carried out.

[0006] The aids or molded parts used for this vary in their shape, size and material. Spherical, tetrahedral or cylinder-like shapes are often used. The finished products currently described, however, are not optimal in their application and do not allow the required high or dosed pressure build-up on the targeted body part.

In addition, these molded parts are often used in a lying position, the molded part being located between the floor and the upper body. The pressure build-up is maximum and always equal to the weight of the upper body above the molded part. A higher pressure in this position is not feasible, as is a reduction in the pressure load. The use in a lying position is also a disadvantage for people with limited fitness or motor skills, since the use of the upper body outside of the body part placed on it has to be held in a horizontal floating position.

The moldings currently described have too large a support on the body-facing point or are inflexible when moving to the desired body point. The reason for this is likely to lie in the choice of material from which the molded part is made.

The size or dimensioning of the currently known molded parts is also inadequate. Pyramidal pentahedra or tetrahedra are described, the majority of which are too small and only allow use in a lying position or which have to be taken into the hand of a second person who then applies the pressure load.

From document US 2008/004554 A1, for example, a molded part functioning as a therapy device for neuromuscular therapy or myofascial trigger point therapy is known, which can be used autonomously by the person to be treated. The molded part known from US 2008/004554 A1 has the shape of a tetrahedron with essentially a planar surface and rounded corners. The dimensioning of the molded part is chosen so that larger molded parts are used in myofascial trigger point therapy for larger muscle areas, in particular an edge length of around 4cm or 7cm. Furthermore, the molded part known from US 2008/004554 A1 can be made of polyethylene, polypropylene, vinyl, nylon, rubber, leather or other composite materials.

The molded part known from US 2008/004554 A1, however, has disadvantages with regard to the contact surface and pressure load on the part of the body to be treated, or there is a fundamental need for optimization.

Presentation of the invention

[0012] The object of the present invention is therefore to design a molded part for neuromuscular therapy with which the possible applications for neuromuscular therapy are expanded.

For this purpose, it was necessary to provide the molded part made of a suitable material so that it enables a metered and precise pressure load on the human body, preferably in an upright posture.

This object is achieved by a molded part according to the features of claim 1.

According to the invention, the molded part comprises a polymer matrix or formulation, in particular in the form of a hard foam, the hard foam of the molded part having a Shore hardness, here in particular Shore hardness C, between 40 and 90, even more preferably between 45 and 70, very particularly preferably 60.

For the purposes of the present invention, the molded part based on a polymer matrix or formulation can be designed as a rigid foam or, alternatively, not as a foam (i.e. as an unfoamed polymer molded part). By using the molded part according to the invention, tensioned and blocked muscle parts are relaxed and the intervertebral discs are set back into the correct position.

It has been shown to be advantageous that the combination of a rigid foam, in particular based on a polymer, with a suitable Shore hardness and a suitable pyramidal shape is a particularly suitable molded part for neuromuscular therapy. In particular, it has been shown that, through the choice of material, the molded part 1 according to the invention is not too soft and the contact surface does not increase too much when pressure is applied, with the therapeutic effect decreasing. Conversely, the molded part 1 is not made of too firm or hard material and cannot slip out of the desired position.

Preferably, the molded part 1 has the shape of a square pyramid with equilateral side triangles with a height preferably between 80mm and 250mm, more preferably between 110mm and 180mm, very particularly preferably 130mm, and / or a side length of the square preferably between 80mm and 280mm, even more preferably between 110mm and 220mm, very particularly preferably 180mm.

The molded part 1 has the further advantage that due to the nature or the material used, type and size of the molded part, an application in an upright posture is made possible, with the person using it or the user preferably standing between a room door frame, and the pointed side, ie the treatment tip, of the molded part is placed on the part of the body to be treated, while the square of the area of the molded part is directed towards the door frame. The molded part is sized so that the other side of the door frame can be reached with at least one outstretched arm. With the arms outstretched and the palms resting on the other side of the door, pressure is applied to the treated part of the body by pressing against it.

The molded part according to the invention made of harder foam is light and has good adhesion to smooth and textured surfaces and leaves no scratches after repeated use. This enables efficient repositioning of the molded part during treatment.

Furthermore, the choice of a rigid foam material has the advantage that pointed moldings can be made that give the molding an elegant and straight figure, but the tip, ie the treatment tip, gives way a little when pressed against the treated body part when in use and does not cause uncomfortable, sharp pain.

Further aspects of the invention are the subject of further independent claims.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a use of the molded part according to the invention, whereby by means of the molded part between the body part to be treated, oriented towards the contact tip and a first pressure surface, and by counter pressure on a second pressure surface, a point pressure is applied to the body part to be treated is applied to achieve a measured pressure on the treated body part.

For the purposes of the present invention, parts of the body to be treated, in particular the back muscles and the entire trunk muscles, but alternatively also, for example, the sole of the foot, the facial muscles or the like, can be understood. It has been shown to be advantageous that, in the treatment of the facial muscles, the molding according to the invention can be used to successfully combat wrinkles.

Particularly preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

The rigid foam according to the invention preferably comprises a polymer matrix or formulation, the polymer base being thermoplastic or thermosetting in nature, and in particular the polymer base being foamed polyethylene, polyester, polypropylene, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, ethylene-vinyl acetate Copolymer (EVA), ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM) or silicone.

With regard to these proposed materials as a polymer base for the rigid foam has been shown to be advantageous that this has a suitable expansion ratio between 100 to 160%, a suitable compression set between 2.0 to 9.0%, a suitable linear shrinkage between 2 to 5%, a bring about a suitable tensile strength between 300 and 1200 kPa, as well as a suitable tear strength of at least 7N / cm in the resulting molded part according to the invention.

Brief description of the drawings

A preferred embodiment of the subject matter of the invention is described below in connection with the accompanying drawings. 1 shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the molded part according to the invention; 2 shows a schematic view of the use of the preferred embodiment of the molded part according to the invention by the user. 3a and 3b show schematic side views of molded parts with different adhesive layers. 4 shows a schematic view of a molded part with a central recess.

description

1 shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the molded part 1 according to the invention for neuromuscular therapy. As can be seen in Fig. 1, according to the preferred embodiment shown here, the molded part 1 has the shape of a square pyramid with equilateral side triangles (or side surfaces Se) with a height H preferably between 80mm and 250mm, more preferably between 110mm and 180mm, very particularly preferred 130 mm, and / or a side length S of the square area, preferably between 80 mm and 280 mm, even more preferably between 110 mm and 220 mm, very particularly preferably 180 mm.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, the molded part 1 can comprise an upper section O facing the treatment tip BS and a lower section U facing away from the treatment tip BS. According to a preferred development of the molded part 1, only the upper section O made of a hard foam with a Shore hardness, here in particular Shore hardness C, between 40 and 90, more preferably between 45 and 70, very particularly preferably 60, while the lower section U can be formed, for example, by a hard foam with a lower Shore hardness. For the purposes of the present invention, the upper section O - as indicated in FIG. Alternatively, however, the upper section O or the lower section U can each make up half of the molded part 1 (i.e. a ratio of 1: 1 with regard to the height H), or the upper section O can make up a quarter, a fifth, etc.

The molded part 1 comprises a rigid foam of a polymer matrix or formulation. The polymer base is in particular thermoplastic or thermosetting in nature. In particular, the polymer base can comprise foamed polyethylene, polyester, polypropylene, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM) or silicone.

The molded part 1 to be obtained based on an unfoamed polymer matrix or formulation can be obtained, for example, by means of injection molding or stretch blow molding, whereby the molded part 1 has a cavity Ho and preferably has an outer wall thickness between 1mm and 5mm.

The molded part 1 to be obtained in the form of a rigid foam can be manufactured by means of a negative casting mold in which the polymer matrix is injected, foamed and cured.

The molded part 1 to be obtained in the form of a rigid foam can be cut out of already finished foam bodies according to an alternative production method. Individual foam parts can also be glued together to form a larger molded part before the desired molded part 1 is cut out.

The ideal molded part 1 is preferably a square pyramid with equilateral side triangles. The height H of the pyramid is ideally between 80mm and 250mm, more preferably between 110mm and 180mm, very particularly preferably 130mm, and the square of the pyramid has a side length S of preferably between 80mm and 280mm, even more preferably between 110mm and 220mm, very particularly preferred 180mm. Usually, the pyramid tip opposite the square of the surface of the molded part 1 designed as a square pyramid is used as the treatment tip BS. In this case, the treatment tip BS is preferably pointed, whereby the treatment tip BS does not feel uncomfortable because of the choice of the hard foam material of the molded part 1 according to the invention. Alternatively, however, the treatment tip BS can also be designed to be rounded.

The molded part 1 can - in contrast to FIG. 1 - also be a cone or a tetrahedron or another pyramid shape.

However, the molded part 1 can also deviate from the rigid geometry of a pyramid or a cone, for example by twisting the molded part 1 or bending the sides and side surfaces.

The corners, in particular the treatment tip BS, and edges are either pointed and sharp-edged or rounded.

The side surfaces Se are preferably smooth, i.e. essentially flat, or structured. A structured side surface S is understood to mean elevations from the side surfaces Se, which essentially represent a plane.

The surface and the foam itself can be designed in all RAL colors and combinations thereof, in particular in black.

The molded part 1 can be perforated or can contain one or more larger cavities Ho, as shown in FIG. 1. Such cavities Ho can give the molded part 1 made of rigid foam material and weight savings and allow a certain degree of design freedom.

The molded part 1 according to the invention has a Shore C hardness, preferably between 40 and 90, more preferably between 45 and 70, very particularly preferably about 60.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the molded part 1 is produced, for example, from the following material “L1500” based on a closed-cell, crosslinked PE foam (ie “crosslinked closed cell PE foam”): Density kg / m 3 80 to 100 GB / T6343 Shore C hardness 55 to 65 - elongation ratio% 110 to 150 GB / T6344 Compression set% 5.5 GB / T6669 Linear shrinkage% ± 4 GB / T8811 Tensile strength kPa 500 to 800 GB / T6344 Tear strength N / cm ≥12 GB / T10808 Water absorption% 3% GB / T1034 Compressive strength kPa 200 GB / T8813 Working temperature ° C -40 to 80 -

Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of the use of the preferred embodiment of the molded part 1 by the user B. As shown in FIG A1; A2 act. The molded part 1 according to the invention is clamped here between an inside of the door frame functioning as a first pressure surface A1 and a body part K of the user B to be treated, the contact tip BS of the pyramid-shaped molded part 1 being oriented towards the body part K to be treated, here for example the back muscles is.

The square surface of the molded part 1 is directed towards the inside of the door frame acting as the first pressure surface A1, wherein a plurality of knobs can be provided on this square of the surface for fastening the molded part to this inside. At the same time, using the hands of user B, a counter-pressure on an opposite inside of the door frame functioning as a second pressure surface A2, the punctual pressure on the body part K to be treated is additionally increased in order to achieve a metered pressure on the body part K to be treated.

The molded part 1 is in each case a body with a flat bottom surface, in particular with an outer contour of a cone, an ellipsoid with a molded part tip, a tetrahedron or a pyramid. In practice it has been shown that the molded part 1 should be specially secured against slipping. An adhesive layer 2 is arranged on the bottom surface of the molded part 1 opposite the contact tip BS. The material of the adhesive layer 2 differs from the material of the molded part 1 and thus from the lower section U or the upper section O. The adhesion of the molded part 1 is increased on a surface by means of the adhesive layer 2, so that no slipping occurs parallel to the surface during use.

The adhesive layer 2 comprises a substantially softer foam material compared to the foams according to the above description of the molded part 1 for the upper section O and the lower section U, but consisting of the same basic polymers. The physical properties of the adhesive layer 2 differ correspondingly from the physical properties of the rest of the molded part 1. The adhesive layer 2 can also consist of rubber or a sticky thin layer, such as, for example, a conventional double-sided adhesive tape consisting of a sticky matrix and a thin-layer film, which then forms an adhesive layer 3. The sticky matrix can be made of acrylate, rubber or polysiloxane or other polymer structures or resins. The layer thickness of the adhesive layer 2 must be at least 0.1 mm and is preferably between 0.1 mm and 5 mm. Rubber here means vulcanizates of natural and synthetic rubbers. Materials that are elastic, wide-meshed crosslinked polymers can be used for the adhesive layer 2.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the material of the adhesive layer 2 is formed by an EPDM foam, for example made from the following material “EPDM2025” based on a closed-cell, crosslinked EPDM foam (ie “crosslinked closed cell EPDM foam”): density kg / m3 100 -150 GB / T6343 elongation ratio% 150-200 GB / T6344 tensile strength kPa 500 to 900 GB / T6344 water absorption% 5% GB / T1034

The adhesive layer 2 is glued to the bottom of the pyramid either with a double-sided adhesive tape or a liquid adhesive as the adhesive layer 3. One-component and multi-component adhesives, hot-melt adhesives or hot-melt adhesives made from known base polymers and / or resins can be used as the adhesive.

If an adhesive layer 3 is to be dispensed with, the adhesive layer 2 can also be injected during the injection molding production of the molded part 1 and thus produced in a molded manner.

The adhesive layer 2 can be designed with a constant layer thickness or in the form of a suction pad which forms a cavity. Furthermore, the adhesive layer 2 can also comprise a plurality of suction nubs of the same or different size or height, as shown schematically in FIG. 3b. The cavities are indicated with dashed lines on the adhesive layer 2 with suction nubs.

In order to simplify storage and transport, a recess with an inner surface of the recess corresponding to the outer contour of the molded part 1 should be made in the body of the molded part 1. This is shown in FIG. The recess should be made in the body of the molded part 1 from the bottom surface into the body, that is to say protruding in the direction of the molded part tip or contact tip BS. As a result, molded parts 1 can be stacked one inside the other.

List of reference symbols

1 molded part 2 adhesive layer 3 adhesive layer A1 first pressure surface A2 second pressure surface B user BS contact tip H height O upper section (of the molded part) S side surface (of the surface square) U lower section (of the molded part) K body point

Claims (12)

1. Molded part (1) for neuromuscular therapy, the molded part (1) being a body with a flat bottom surface and an outer contour, in particular in the form of a cone, ellipsoid with shaped part tip, a tetrahedron or a pyramid with equilateral side triangles with a height (H), wherein the molded part tip acts as a treatment tip (BS) for treating a body part (K) to be treated, the molded part (1) comprising a polymer matrix or formulation, in particular in the form of a rigid foam, and that the molded part (1) has a Shore C hardness between 40 and 90, more preferably between 45 and 70, very particularly preferably 60, characterized in that an adhesive layer (2) made of foam, silicone or rubber is arranged on the base of the molded part (1) opposite the contact tip (BS). 2. molded part (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the adhesive layer (2) comprises a closed-cell, cross-linked EPDM foam. 3. molded part (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adhesive layer (2) is glued to the base of the molded part (1) by means of an adhesive layer (3). 4. molded part (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adhesive layer (2) is arranged in the form of a suction nub with at least one cavity on the side of the suction nub opposite the contact tip (BS). 5. molded part (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the adhesive layer (2) has a plurality of suction nubs of the same size, each suction nub in each case at least one cavity on the side of the suction nub opposite the contact tip (BS) arranged, having. 6. molded part (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the thickness of the adhesive layer (2) is between 0.1 mm and 5 mm. 7. molded part (1) according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the adhesive layer (3) is formed by a double-sided adhesive tape or a liquid adhesive. 8. molded part (1) for neuromuscular therapy according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a recess with the outer contour of the molded part (1) corresponding to the outer contour of the molded part (1) is made in the body of the molded part, protruding into the body. 9. molded part (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the molded part (1) has an upper section (O) facing the treatment tip (BS), preferably in the upper third, and a lower section (O) facing away from the treatment tip (BS) Section (U) comprises, the Shore C hardness of the upper section (O) being greater than that of the lower section (U). 10. A method for producing a molded part (1) for neuromuscular therapy according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the molded part (1) to be obtained is obtained by means of a negative mold in which the polymer matrix is injected, foamed and cured, whereupon an adhesive layer (2) is arranged on the base of the molded part (1) opposite the contact tip (BS). 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the adhesive layer (2) is attached to the base of the molded part (1) by means of an adhesive layer (3) comprising a double-sided adhesive tape or a liquid adhesive. 12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the adhesive layer (2) is formed from a plurality of suction nubs which are attached individually or as a whole with the adhesive layer (3) to the base of the molded part (1).