JP2002102263A - Buffer material for joint fixing outfit and joint fixing outfit using it - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a buffer material for a joint fixing outfit having superior in air permeability, wearing feeling, and shape conformability, and high in joint fixing force even against an excessive load, and to provide a joint fixing outfit using it. SOLUTION: This buffer material for the joint fixing outfit is a porous body of open cells, and contains a thermoplastic elastomer of 100 pts. mass and a tackifier of 5-170 pts. mass. The buffer material easily follows deformation caused by a shock, compression or the like and has the excellent shape conformability. As a result, the buffer material and the joint fixing outfit using it are improved in adhesion to a joint to have the excellent joint fixing force.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cushioning material for an arthrodesis device having good air permeability and an arthrodesis device using the same, and more particularly, to preventing a ligament from being damaged in sports or ordinary life. The present invention relates to a cushioning material for a joint fixing device used for rehabilitation when a ligament is damaged, and a joint fixing device using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An articulation brace is attached to a joint to prevent the ligament from being stretched or cut, or to rehabilitate when these injuries are caused. Sometimes used.
The joint fixing device used for such a purpose generally absorbs external impact, and has a role of fixing and protecting a joint. The joint fixing device includes a cushioning material and a mounting body for attaching the cushioning material to the joint. It is configured.

[0003] The cushioning material for the joint fixing device and the joint fixing device are required to have air permeability, hygiene, shock absorption, shape conformity, and the like. The shock-absorbing property is to absorb a shock and protect the joint against a sudden shock or load on the joint, and the shape conformity is, in accordance with the movement of the joint,
Deforms and adapts to the shape of the joint. If the shape conformity is insufficient, the adhesion between the joint and the joint fixing orthosis decreases, and the joint fixing force decreases.

[0004] As a conventional cushioning material for an arthrodesis device,
There is a closed-cell sponge made of natural rubber or chloroprene. However, these sponges are slippery, cause slippage inside the joint fixation brace, or have insufficient shape conformity, resulting in poor adhesion to the joint, and the joint fixation force is not satisfactory. Was. Furthermore, since washing cannot be performed, there is a problem in hygiene, and in combination with poor ventilation, skin irritation may occur.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has a cushioning material for an arthrodesis device excellent in breathability, a feeling of wearing, and shape conformity, and an arthrodesis using the same and having a high arthrodesis force. The aim is to provide orthotics.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a porous body having open cells, wherein the porous body comprises a thermoplastic elastomer.
A cushioning material for an arthrodesis device, comprising 00 parts by mass and 5 to 170 parts by mass of a tackifier. It is preferable that the porous body further contains 5-70 parts by mass of a thermoplastic resin based on 100 parts by mass of the thermoplastic elastomer. Further, it is preferable that the porous body is formed by dissolving the water-soluble pore-forming material from a molding material obtained by dispersing the water-soluble pore-forming material in a thermoplastic elastomer and a tackifier.

[0007] The present invention further relates to an articulation orthosis including the above-mentioned cushioning material for an articulation orthosis and a body to which the cushioning material is attached. The joint fixation device can further include a shape retainer, and can be suitably used for ankle joint fixation. The porous cushioning material can be detachably attached to the mounting body.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The cushioning material for an arthrodesis device of the present invention is a porous body having open cells, and is characterized by containing 100 parts by mass of a thermoplastic elastomer and 5 to 170 parts by mass of an adhesive.

A viscoelastic thermoplastic elastomer exhibits elastic resilience to excessive load and deformation,
It has the property of following a slow load or deformation due to viscosity.

[0010] The cushioning material of the present invention utilizes this property,
With respect to an excessive load from the outside, it is suitable for fixing and protecting the joint when a sudden load is applied, for example, when the joint is suddenly loaded due to resilience. In addition, it has the property of following the deformation with respect to slow deformation such as rehabilitation by moving a joint by itself, and is excellent in shape conformity. The cushioning material of the present invention is thus excellent in shape conformity,
High adhesion to joints and excellent joint fixation.

The thermoplastic elastomer may be any one which comprises a soft segment exhibiting rubber elasticity and a hard segment serving as a knot of a three-dimensional network. Specifically, the hard segment is polystyrene and the soft segment is polybutadiene. , Polyisoprene, or a hydrogenated polystyrene-based elastomer thereof; the hard segment is polyethylene or polypropylene,
The soft segment is made of butyl rubber or EPDM (ethylene-
Polypropylene-based elastomer whose propylene-diene copolymer); polyamide-based elastomer whose hard segment is polyamide and soft segment is polyester or polyether; polyester-based elastomer whose hard segment is polyester and soft segment is polyether; Polyurethane-based elastomers having a polyurethane segment having a urethane bond and having a soft segment of polyester or polyether, and the like, may be used alone or in combination of two or more. Among these, a polystyrene-based elastomer is particularly preferably used. This is because a product with higher viscosity can be obtained with the same bubble ratio. As the polystyrene-based elastomer, for example, there is a high blur manufactured by Kuraray Co., Ltd.

The cushioning material of the present invention can contain 5 to 170 parts by mass of a tackifier with respect to 100 parts by mass of the thermoplastic elastomer, and can improve shape adaptability and joint fixing force.

The reason why the tackifier improves shape conformability and joint fixing power is not clear, but is considered as follows. It is considered that the tackifier imparts viscosity to the thermoplastic elastomer, and as a result, the cushioning material of the present invention has improved followability to shape changes and is excellent in shape conformity. Further, the tackifier imparts tackiness to the surface of the porous body of the open cells and the surface of the cells. When the adhesiveness is imparted to the surface of the porous body, the gap between the porous body surface and the cloth inside the joint fixing device is reduced, so that the adhesiveness to the joint is excellent.

The tackifier is used in an amount of 5 to 170 parts by mass based on 100 parts by mass of the thermoplastic elastomer.

If the amount of the tackifier is less than 5 parts by mass, it is not possible to impart viscosity and tackiness to the thermoplastic elastomer, so that sufficient shape conformity cannot be obtained. When the amount exceeds 170 parts by mass, the thermoplastic elastomer becomes too soft, so that the air bubbles in the porous body cannot be maintained, the air bubbles are easily crushed, and the pressure is applied. As a result, shock absorption and shape conformity deteriorate.

The preferred amount of the tackifier is:
It can be appropriately selected depending on the thermoplastic elastomer to be used. When a polystyrene-based elastomer is used, the amount is preferably 5 parts by mass or more and 50 parts by mass or less.

Examples of the tackifier include terpene resins, cumarone / indene resins, xylene / formaldehyde resins, petroleum resins, polybutene resins, pine tar and the like. Further, a liquid thermoplastic resin having a molecular weight of 1,000 or less may be used as the tackifier. The tackifier can be appropriately selected in consideration of compatibility with the thermoplastic elastomer, and a polybutene-based tackifier is preferable for a polystyrene-based elastomer.

In the present invention, a thermoplastic resin may be used in addition to the thermoplastic elastomer in order to adjust the strength of the cushioning material. By using the thermoplastic resin, the strength of the thermoplastic elastomer softened by the tackifier can be reinforced.
The thermoplastic resin is not particularly limited, for example, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polystyrene, A
S resin, ABS resin, EVA resin, ethylene-α-olefin copolymer, polyamide 6, polyamide 6,6, polycarbonate, polyacetal, and the like. A crystalline thermoplastic resin such as polyethylene is preferred. In addition, the thermoplastic resin can be appropriately selected and used in consideration of compatibility with the thermoplastic elastomer and that which can be molded at a temperature lower than the molding temperature of the thermoplastic elastomer, and can be used, for example, for a polystyrene elastomer. In this case, polypropylene can be suitably used. The thermoplastic resin can be used within a range that does not adversely affect the shape restoring property, and is preferably added in an amount of 5 to 70 parts by mass based on 100 parts by mass of the thermoplastic elastomer. When the use amount of the thermoplastic resin is less than 5 parts by mass, the reinforcing effect of the thermoplastic resin is small. When the amount of the thermoplastic resin exceeds 70 parts by mass, the viscoelasticity characteristic of the thermoplastic elastomer is lost, and the conformability of the cushioning material is reduced. A suitable amount of the thermoplastic resin can be appropriately selected according to the type of the thermoplastic elastomer used. When a polystyrene-based elastomer is used, the amount is preferably 5 to 30 parts by mass.

The cushioning material of the present invention may contain an antibacterial agent, a deodorant and the like in addition to the thermoplastic elastomer, the thermoplastic resin and the tackifier.

The cushioning material for an arthrodesis device of the present invention is excellent in air permeability because it is an open-cell porous material. This is because, in the porous body of open cells, the bubbles in the porous body communicate with each other and further communicate with the outside to form an air passage. Therefore, the cushioning material of the present invention is excellent in drying property and can be easily washed, so that it is excellent in hygiene.

It is desirable that the bubble rate of the cushioning material (content of bubbles in the porous body) is 50% or more and 90% or less. If the air bubble rate is less than 50%, the air permeability decreases, and
When it becomes super, the skeleton of the buffer itself becomes too soft,
Shape conformity decreases.

The hardness of the cushioning material is not particularly limited, but is 50 or more, more preferably 60 or more in Asker (F) hardness. The upper limit of the hardness is 90
Or less, more preferably 80 or less.
If Asker F hardness is less than 50 or more than 90, the cushioning material is too soft or too hard, so that the shock absorbing property and the form conformity deteriorate.

The method for producing the cushioning material for an arthrodesis device of the present invention is not particularly limited. For example, a water-soluble pore-forming material, a tackifier and, if necessary, a thermoplastic resin are mixed with a thermoplastic elastomer and molded. To obtain a solid molded body. The molding method is appropriately selected according to the characteristics of the compounded molding material. If the compounded molding material is excellent in heat melting property and fluidity, injection molding and extrusion molding can be applied,
Otherwise, compression molding, heating and press molding, etc. may be applied. The obtained molded body is washed with water to elute the water-soluble pore-forming material, whereby an open-cell porous body can be obtained. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION Since the buffer material of this invention and its manufacturing method can use water as an elution medium of a water-soluble pore forming material, it is excellent in safety and health.

The water-soluble pore-forming material is not particularly limited, and is preferably a water-soluble, room-temperature solid or powdery material, such as a water-soluble metal salt or a water-soluble organic compound. Examples of the metal salt include sulfates, such as alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, copper, zinc, and iron, hydrochlorides, carbonates, and acetates, and are preferably sodium chloride and sodium sulfate. Examples of the water-soluble organic compound include pentaerythritol (C (CH ₂ O
H) ₄ ), L-erythritol, D-erythritol,
meso-C2 such as erythritol and piconal
About 5 to 5 polyhydric alcohols; urea and the like, and preferably pentaerythritol.

The polyhydric alcohol has a lower melting point than the metal salt, and tends to become a molten liquid at the temperature at which the thermoplastic elastomer is molded. Therefore, at the time of molding, the polyhydric alcohol can be uniformly dispersed in the thermoplastic elastomer, and the obtained molded article is eluted with water to form a uniform open-celled porous body. The size of the bubbles is based on the size of the polyhydric alcohol molecules to be eluted, and is smaller and more uniform than a bubble of a porous body obtained by a desalting method using a metal salt or a normal foaming method. It is considered to be. As a result, the resulting cushioning material is excellent in shock absorption and shape conformity. Therefore, in the present invention, a method of producing a cushioning material using a polyhydric alcohol is preferred.

The joint fixing device of the present invention is a joint fixing device including the cushioning material of the present invention and a mounting body.

The shape of the cushioning material is not particularly limited, and may be a polygonal shape such as a square, a rectangle, and a rhombus; a circle;
An elliptical shape or the like may be used, and is appropriately selected according to a site to which the device is applied. The thickness of the cushioning material is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.5 mm or more and 10 mm or less. When the thickness is less than 0.5 mm, the buffer capacity decreases,
This is because if the thickness exceeds 10 mm, the feeling of wearing the orthosis is reduced.

[0028] The mounting body is provided with the cushioning material.
The material is not particularly limited as long as it is attached to a joint, for example, a cloth made of natural fiber or synthetic fiber,
Fabrics such as artificial leather are exemplified. A cloth made of natural fibers or synthetic fibers is preferable from the viewpoint of shape compatibility, and a cotton cloth is more preferable from the viewpoint of texture and hygroscopicity.

The cushioning material of the present invention may be integrally attached to the mounting body, or may be detachably attached. As a method to be attached integrally,
For example, it can be attached between the two mounting members by sewing with a thread, or can be attached by an adhesive. As a method of detachably attaching, for example, the cushioning material of the present invention may be stored in an openable and closable bag-shaped portion. Further, the cushioning material can be attached to one to several places of the mounting body.

Further, for maintaining the shape of the mounting member and the cushioning material, a shape holder can be further used.
The material of the shape retainer is not particularly limited as long as it is soft enough not to impair the conformability of the cushioning material, and an acrylic resin-based, polyolefin-based, urethane-based, or polyester-based plastic sheet is used. For example, a polypropylene sheet having a thickness of 2 mm can be used.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the joint fixing device according to the present invention, in which a bag-shaped mounting member obtained by sewing the first mounting member 2a and the second mounting member 2b is used as the mounting member 2. It is. The cushioning material 1 is adhered to one surface of a plastics sheet 3 that is a shape retainer, and the other surface of the plastics sheet 3 is adhered to a mounting body 2a to form a bag-shaped mounting body 2. 2b, the position is fixed.

The joint fixation device of the present invention can be used as an ankle joint fixation device, a knee joint fixation device, and an elbow joint fixation device by appropriately changing the shape and size of the mounting body and the cushioning material. it can. 2 and 3 show one embodiment of the orthosis for brace of an ankle joint of the present invention, in which a cushioning material is attached to a mounting body so as to be located on both side surfaces of the ankle joint. The size and position of the cushioning material are not particularly limited. For example, in the case of an ankle joint fixing device, the device can be mounted not only on both side surfaces of the ankle but also on the bottom of the ankle.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

[0034]

EXAMPLES [Evaluation and Measurement Methods] Specific Gravity and Bubble Ratio (%) of Buffer Material First, the volume (V1) and mass (W1) of the buffer material were measured. The specific gravity (G1) of the cushioning material is calculated as follows: specific gravity (G1) = W1 / V
Determined by 1. Next, the volume (V2 = W1 / G2) was calculated by dividing the mass (W1) by the specific gravity (G2) of the buffer material itself (raw material component) without considering the volume of bubbles in the buffer material. At this time, the bubble rate (%) is defined by the following equation. Bubble rate (%) of buffer material = 100− (V2 / V1) × 10
0

Asker F hardness of cushioning material The cushioning material has a plane part size of 80 mm × 80 mm and a thickness of 20 m.
m sample was prepared and ASKER manufactured by Kobunshi Keiki Co., Ltd.
-Measured using an F-type hardness meter.

Joint Fixing Force A joint fixing device 9 was attached to an ankle-type experimental model 8 shown in FIG. The wire 4 connected to the lower end of the fan unit 6 and the spring balance 5 is wound by the winding device 7 connected to the spring balance 5,
The fan 6 was rotated. The torque when the ankle joint was rotated inward by 4 ° (varus angle) with the center of the fan 6 as the rotation axis 10 was obtained by measuring the load applied to the spring balance 5. It can be said that the larger the value of the torque, the higher the repulsive force against the load and the higher the fixing force.

[Manufacture of cushioning material and joint fixation device] A molding material was prepared based on the formulation shown in Table 1.
By injection molding, a solid molded body was obtained. This solid molded body,
The water-soluble pore-forming material is eluted by washing with water,
A cushioning material that was an open-cell porous material was manufactured. A fixing device for an ankle joint as shown in FIG. 2 was prepared using a polypropylene sheet (thickness: 2 mm) as a shape retainer and a cloth and a cushioning material previously produced as a mount. Table 1 shows the results of the evaluation of the obtained ankle joint fixing orthosis.

[0038]

[Table 1]

Polystyrene-based thermoplastic elastomer:
"HIBLER 7125" Kuraray polyester thermoplastic elastomer: "Elastage ED1615U" Tosoh Corporation Polypropylene: "Grand Polypro J709W" Grand Polymer Co., Ltd. Tackifier: "Polybutene 100R" Idemitsu Petrochemical pentaerythritol: "Penta Erythritol "Mitsui Chemicals Salt:" Naruto Roasted Salt 70M "Tomita Pharmaceutical Company Natural Rubber Sponge:" Orange Rubber "

From Table 1, it can be seen that the joint fixing device of the present invention has a higher joint fixing force than the joint fixing device of the comparative example, and the joint fixing force increases due to the effect of the tackifier. Further, as in Examples 1 to 3, increasing the amount of the tackifier increases the joint fixing force, but if the amount of addition is too large (Example 4), the thermoplastic elastomer having a porous skeleton becomes soft. Air bubbles cannot be maintained, and some of the air bubbles are compressed. For this reason, the bubble ratio decreases, and Asker F hardness also increases. From Examples 2 and 3, the amount of tackifier used was 100% thermoplastic elastomer.
It can be seen that when the amount is 20 to 35 parts by mass with respect to the parts by mass, the joint fixing force becomes extremely high.

[0041]

The cushioning material for an arthrodesis device of the present invention is excellent in air permeability because it uses an open-celled porous body and can be washed, so that it has good hygiene. Further, the cushioning material of the present invention contains a thermoplastic elastomer as a main component and further contains a tackifier, so that it can follow deformation such as impact and compression, and is excellent in shape conformity.
Since the joint fixing device of the present invention uses the cushioning material of the present invention, the adhesion to the joint is enhanced, and the joint fixing force is excellent.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an embodiment of an articulation orthosis of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an embodiment of a brace for fixing an ankle joint of the present invention (front view).

FIG. 3 is an embodiment of a brace for fixing an ankle joint of the present invention (side view).

FIG. 4 shows a joint fixing force measuring device used in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: cushioning material 2a: mounted body 2b: mounted body 3: shape holder (plastic sheet) 4: wire 5: spring balance 6: fan unit 7: winding device 8: ankle experimental model 9: joint fixing device 10 :Axis of rotation

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Ayako Meguro 1st Bodakubo, Izumizaki-mura, Izumizaki-mura, Nishishirakawa-gun, Fukushima F-term (reference) in Asahi Rubber Co., Ltd. DD26 DD28

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A cushioning material for an arthrodesis device, comprising an open-celled porous body, wherein the porous body contains 100 parts by mass of a thermoplastic elastomer and 5 to 170 parts by mass of a tackifier. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the porous body is a thermoplastic elastomer.
2. The cushioning material for an arthrodesis device according to claim 1, further comprising 5 to 70 parts by mass of a thermoplastic resin based on 00 parts by mass. 3. The porous body is obtained by eluting a water-soluble pore-forming material from a molding material obtained by dispersing a water-soluble pore-forming material in a thermoplastic elastomer and a tackifier. 3. The cushioning material for an arthrodesis device according to 1 or 2. 4. An articulation orthosis comprising the cushioning material for an articulation orthosis according to claim 1, and a mounting body to which the cushioning material is attached. 5. The joint fixation device according to claim 4, wherein the joint fixation device further includes a shape retainer. 6. The joint fixation device according to claim 4, wherein the joint fixation device is an ankle joint fixation device. 7. The joint fixation device according to claim 4, wherein the porous cushioning member is detachably attached.