FR3075595A1 - FOOT BRACE - Google Patents

Abstract

This human subject foot splint, shaped to be positioned on the top of the foot (1), comprises: a body (21) formed in a flexible material, this body comprising on the one hand a pallet (23) intended to be positioned on the top of the foot (1), and on the other hand tabs (25a, 25b, 25c, 25d) extending from this pallet (23) in a substantially perpendicular direction (XZ) thereto, intended to be positioned between the toes, and - at least one semi-rigid insert (29a, 29b, 29c) fixed on said pallet (23), intended to be positioned in the direction of at least one of said toes.

Description

The present patent application relates to a splint for the foot of a human subject.

In a certain number of situations, it is necessary to be able to maintain at least certain toes of the foot in a determined position, or at least to be able to reduce the movements of these toes.

This occurs for example after an operation to repair a toe following a trauma or deformation (such as a repair of hallux valgus: deviation of the big toe), or to straighten a toe that has suffered deformations over time (such as a straightening of the second toe positioned “in claw” or “in hammer”).

Various splints are known from the prior art aimed at keeping one or more toes in a predetermined position, or at limiting the movements of the toes.

For example, the document FR3047409 discloses a splint comprising a rigid sole provided with partitions making it possible to separate the toes from one another, and with bands for fixing the sole under the sole of the foot.

While it is true that this splint allows effective retention of the toes in a predetermined position, it has the disadvantage of making walking difficult for the patient, and of not being able to be used conveniently inside shoes.

The present invention therefore aims in particular to provide a splint of a new type, allowing a patient to walk without any difficulty, with his usual shoes.

This object of the invention is achieved with a splint for the foot of a human subject, shaped to be positioned on the top of the foot, comprising:

a body formed in a flexible material, this body comprising on the one hand a pallet intended to be positioned on the top of the foot, and on the other hand tongues extending from this pallet in a direction substantially perpendicular to that -ci, intended to be positioned between the toes, and

- At least one semi-rigid insert fixed on said pallet, intended to be positioned in the direction of at least one of said toes.

Thanks to the characteristics of the splint according to the invention, it is placed on the top of the foot, so that it does not hinder walking and can be easily placed inside a shoe.

In addition, the flexibility of this splint allows the foot to follow its natural deformations during walking, thus making this splint practically transparent for the patient.

The body formed in the flexible material allows this splint to conform exactly to the shape of the top of the foot, and the semi-rigid insert (s) give this splint sufficient strength to maintain the toe (s) concerned, while allowing some mobility of this or these toes.

According to other optional features of the splint according to the invention:

said pallet comprises at least one groove for receiving said insert,

said pallet includes reinforcements for retaining said insert in said groove,

said pallet comprises three grooves for receiving three inserts, corresponding respectively to the positions of the second, third and fourth toes,

said insert has three sections connected to each other by two narrowing zones, the three sections corresponding respectively to the metatarsal bones and to the proximal and middle phalanxes of the toe,

- said three sections define a zigzag profile in side view,

said body is formed from an elastomeric material such as silicone,

- Said insert is formed from a material chosen from the group comprising elastic radio-transparent materials such as plastics, and elastic metals or metal alloys.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the light of the description which follows, and on examination of the attached figures, in which:

- Figure 1 shows the skeleton of a foot in top view,

FIG. 2 represents a perspective view from above of the splint according to the invention,

FIG. 3 represents a perspective view from below of the splint according to the invention,

- Figure 4 shows a top view of this splint,

- Figure 5 shows a bottom view of this splint,

- Figure 6 shows a view of the left side of this splint,

- Figure 7 shows a view of the right side of this splint,

FIG. 8 represents a side view of a semi-rigid insert of the splint according to the invention, and

- Figure 9 shows a top view of this insert.

In all of these figures, identical or analogous references designate identical or analogous organs or assemblies of organs.

We will also use on all of these figures a common reference frame XYZ, the three axes of which are positioned relative to the foot as shown in FIG. 1: the XY plane is the transverse plane, the XZ plane is the sagittal plane, and the YZ plane is the frontal plane.

In the following, a splint for the left foot is shown by way of example, but it goes without saying that the invention also covers a splint for the right foot, which is deduced from that which is shown in the attached figures. by symmetry.

We now refer to FIG. 1, on which the skeleton of a left foot 1 has been represented.

This skeleton includes five toes, namely a big toe 3, and second 5, third 7, fourth 9 and fifth 11 toes.

Each toe includes a metatarsal bone 13, a proximal phalanx 15, a middle phalanx 17, and a distal phalanx 19 (with the exception of the big toe, which has no middle phalanx).

Referring now to Figures 4 to 7, it can be seen that the splint according to the invention comprises a body 21 formed in a flexible hypoallergenic material which can go on the skin such as silicone, this body 21 comprising on the one hand a pallet 23 of generally triangular shape, and on the other hand four tabs 25a, 25b, 25c, 25d extending from the pallet 23 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the latter, that is to say in the plane sagittal XZ.

For example, the flexible material forming the body 21 of the splint may have a Shore hardness between 30 and 40.

The pallet 23 is shaped to match the shape of the top of the patient's left foot, and the tabs 25a to 25d are shaped to be inserted respectively between the big toe 3 and the second toe 5, between the second 5 and third 7 toes , between the third 7 and fourth 9 toes, and between the fourth 9 and fifth 11 toes.

On the upper surface of the pallet 23 are formed three grooves 27a, 27b, 27c each accommodating a semi-rigid insert 29a, 29b, 29c.

As can be seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, each insert is in the form of a rod formed from a semi-rigid material, such as a plastic material or a metal or elastic metal alloy.

It will be noted that for reasons of radio-transparency (permeability to X-rays), the use of a plastic material is preferred.

Each insert 29 has three sections 31a, 31b, 31c linked together by narrowing zones 33a, 33b.

As can be seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, both the inserts 29 and the pallet 23 have, in the sagittal plane XZ, a zigzag profile, corresponding in fact to the broken line formed by the metatarsal bones 13, the proximal phalanges 15 , and the middle phalanges 17.

The narrowing zone 33a is intended, in use, to be positioned in line with the axis of articulation A between the metatarsal bones 13 and the first phalanges 15 (see FIG. 1).

The narrowing zone 33b is intended to be positioned in line with the articulation axis B between the first phalanges 15 and the middle phalanges 17.

In addition, when the splint is positioned on the patient's foot, its front edge 35 substantially follows the axis of articulation C between the middle phalanxes 17 and distal 19 of the second, third, fourth and fifth toes.

As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, this front edge 35 follows the curvature of the foot in the front plane YZ.

It will be noted that the semi-rigid inserts 29 are held in their respective grooves Y1 by means of holding pads 37a, 37b, 37c formed of material with the pallet 23.

The method of use and the advantages of the splint according to the invention result directly from the above description.

This splint is intended either for a patient who has undergone an operation of one or more toes, or to a patient who has not undergone an operation, but for which one wishes to correctly reposition one or more toes which have undergone deformation during time (for example second toe incorrectly positioned "in claw", because too often curled up inside the shoes).

The splint according to the invention is positioned so that the underside of the pallet 23, that is to say the face visible in FIG. 5, comes into contact with the upper part of the foot, while taking care to correctly position the tabs 25a to 25d between the toes concerned.

A cohesive elastic compression bandage, of the Coheban® type or a self-adhesive band or a Velcro® band, is then passed around the foot and of this splint, in order to keep the splint in place on the foot. Once the splint is correctly positioned on the foot, the toes are held in place by the housings defined by the tongues 25a to 25d, limiting the movements of these toes in the transverse plane XY.

The semi-rigid inserts 29a to 29c, are in turn positioned respectively along the second 5, third 7 and fourth 9 toes, so that the narrowing zones 33a and 33b of each insert 29 coincide substantially and respectively with the articulation axes A between the metatarsal bones 13 and the proximal phalanges 15, and B between the proximal phalanges 15 and the middle

17.

Thanks to their semi-rigid nature, the inserts 29 maintain the toes in position in the sagittal plane XZ, while allowing a certain mobility of these toes.

This mobility is facilitated by the narrowing zones 33a and 33b which allow a certain movement of the toe joints.

It is moreover a general characteristic of the splint according to the invention to present a certain overall flexibility, by the choice of materials forming the body 21 and the inserts 29 of this splint, while ensuring the retention of the fingers of feet in a desired position.

This allows a patient wearing the splint according to the invention to walk normally, while avoiding movements of the toes beyond a predetermined threshold.

Note that one can quite decide to remove one or two of the three inserts 29, for example if one wishes to ensure the maintenance of a single toe.

To remove an insert 29, it suffices to make a slot in the corresponding holding pads 37a, 37b, 37c, and to extract the insert 29 from its associated groove 27.

One can also consider having inserts 29 having different widths and / or different rigidities, depending on the need for treatment of each toe.

As can be understood in the light of the above, the splint according to the invention is clearly distinguished from those of the prior art in that on the one hand it comes to be positioned on the foot, and not below , and on the other hand that it has a flexibility studied to allow patients who wear this splint to walk normally with their usual shoes, while ensuring good support of the toes to be treated.

For a given patient, one can consider making the splint to measure, from a molding of the foot of this patient.

However, for reasons of cost and time saving, it will be preferred to have several splint sizes in stock, and to choose the size that best suits each patient.

Of course, the present invention is in no way limited to the embodiment described and shown.

Claims (8)

1. Human subject foot splint, shaped to be positioned on the top of the foot (1), comprising: - A body (21) formed in a flexible material, this body comprising on the one hand a pallet (23) intended to be positioned on the top of the foot (1), and on the other hand of the tongues (25a, 25b, 25c , 25d) extending from this pallet (23) in a direction substantially perpendicular (XZ) thereto, intended to be positioned between the toes (3, 5, 7, 9,11), and - at least one semi-rigid insert (29a, 29b, 29c) fixed on said pallet (23), intended to be positioned in the direction of at least one of said toes (3, 5, 7,9,11) . 2. Splint according to claim 1, wherein said pallet (23) has at least one groove (27a, 27b, 27c) for receiving said insert (29a, 29b, 29c). 3. Splint according to claim 2, wherein said pallet (23) comprises reinforcements (37a, 37b, 37c) for holding said insert (29a, 29b, 29c) in said groove (27a, 27b, 27c). 4. Splint according to any one of the preceding claims, in which said pallet (23) comprises three grooves (27a, 27b, 27c) for receiving three inserts (29a, 29b, 29c), corresponding respectively to the positions of the second (5 ), third (7) and fourth (9) toes. 5. Splint according to any one of the preceding claims, in which said insert (29a, 29b, 29c) comprises three sections (31a, 31b, 31c) connected to each other by two narrowing zones (33a, 33b), the three sections corresponding respectively to the metatarsal bones (13) and the proximal (15) and middle (17) phalanxes of the toe. 6. Splint according to claim 5, wherein said three sections (31a, 31b, 31c) define a zigzag profile in side view. 7. Splint according to any one of the preceding claims, in which said body (21) is formed from an elastomeric material such as silicone. 8. Splint according to any one of the preceding claims, in which said insert (29a, 29b, 29c) is formed from a material chosen from the group comprising elastic radio-transparent materials such as plastics, and metals or alloys elastic metal.