JP2005058601A - Foot joint exercise apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small, light-weight and inexpensive foot joint exercise apparatus with which an action similar to manual foot joint dorsiflexion exercise by a physical therapist is safely carried out. <P>SOLUTION: The foot joint exercise apparatus 1 comprises: a foot fixing member 2; a foot placing member 3 rotatably provided at this foot fixing member 2; and an air bag 9 formed in the state of a double-folded belt and provided under the foot placing member 3. The air bag 9 consists of: an inner bag 10 made of an elastic body; and an outer bag 11 made of inextensible material. Deformation of the inner bag 10 is regulated by the outer bag 11. When air is supplied to an air pump 14, the air bag 9 effectively pushes up the foot placing member 3 while deforming from the double-folded state to a straight shape to realize the dorsiflexion exercise of the foot joint. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

The present invention relates to an exercising device that performs dorsiflexion movement of an ankle joint in a passive manner.

Ankle contractures are likely to occur in conditions in which elderly people are forced to bed for a long time, such as after hemiplegia due to a stroke or after surgery of the knee and hip joints. It is much more effective and desirable to prevent joint contracture than to treat it after it occurs. Therefore, for those who cannot move the ankle joint by themselves, a medical worker such as a physical therapist manually moves the toe up and down to perform the passive movement of the ankle joint. However, in reality, there are many elderly people who are bedridden due to contraction of the ankle joint due to lack of medical staff.

Therefore, an ankle joint exercise machine that performs an action simulating the above-described manual ankle joint dorsiflexion movement is commercially available and actually used. This is a large-scale device that flexes the ankle joint of one leg using an electric motor as a drive source.

Further, Patent Document 1 proposes a device for bending an ankle joint by rotating an inclined plate on which a foot is put by air pressure as a lower limb stretching device.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-200481

As described above, the ankle dorsiflexion exercise that is manually performed by a physical therapist is very tedious, and it is difficult to sufficiently apply it to all persons who need this therapy. In addition, a commercially available ankle joint exerciser incorporates an electric motor as a drive source in the main body, and is heavy and inconvenient for movement and expensive.

As far as the inventors of the present invention know, the leg stretching device described in Patent Document 1 does not seem to be put into practical use. This lower limb stretching device is intended to rotate an inclined plate on which a foot is placed by supplying air to an accordion-shaped air bag and inflating it, but the present inventor completes the present invention. In the examination so far, it has been found that such an accordion-shaped air bag cannot rotate the inclined plate well.

An object of the present invention is to provide a small, lightweight, and inexpensive ankle joint exerciser that can safely perform an action simulating a limb flexion movement of a manual ankle by a physical therapist.

In order to solve the above-described problems, an ankle joint exercise device of the present invention includes a lower limb fixing member, a footrest member rotatably provided on the lower limb fixing member, and a two-fold structure provided below the footrest member. It has a belt-like air bag, and the air bag has an inner bag made of an elastic body and an outer bag made of a non-stretchable material.

The ankle joint exercise device of the present invention has an effect that an operation simulating a limb flexion exercise of a manual ankle can be performed safely and inexpensively.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of an ankle joint exerciser according to the present invention, showing a state of ankle joint movement in a static position, and FIG. 2 showing a state of ankle joint movement in a dorsiflexion position.

The ankle joint exerciser 1 of the present invention includes a lower limb fixing member 2 and a footrest member 3 that is rotatably provided on the lower limb fixing member 2. The lower limb fixing member 2 includes an inner boot 4 and an outer boot 5 and is formed in a shape that covers the rear side of the lower limb. The inner boot 4 in contact with the lower limb uses a soft member such as cloth or sponge, and the outer boot 5 that does not directly touch the user's body is made of a relatively hard material such as synthetic resin or metal. Further, the footrest member 3 is formed with a portion in contact with the sole of the foot and a portion that covers the ankle, and the outer boot 5 of the lower limb fixing member 2 via the rotation support member 6 provided at a position of the outer fruit. Is rotatably connected to.

The footrest member 3 is provided with an ankle fixing belt 7 for fixing the ankle. The leg fixing member 2 is provided with a leg fixing belt 8 for fixing the leg. The outer boot 5 has a flat lower surface 5a in FIG. 1, and can be supported so that the ankle exerciser 1 does not fall down when placed on a bed or a floor surface with this surface down.

An air bag 9 is provided between the outer boot 5 of the lower limb fixing member 2 and the bottom of the footrest member 3. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing details of a state in which the air bag 9 is expanded. The air bag 9 has a double structure of an inner bag 10 and an outer bag 11. The inner bag 10 is an airtight bag made of a stretchable elastic body such as rubber. When there is no air, it has a belt-like shape and has at least one air inlet / outlet 12 at one end thereof. A rubber tube 13 extends from the air inlet / outlet 12 and is connected to an air pump 14. When air is supplied from the air pump 14, the inner bag 10 expands. On the other hand, the outer bag 11 is made of a non-stretchable material such as cloth and is made slightly larger than the inner bag 10 without air.

The air bag 9 is attached to the ankle joint exerciser 1 in a state where the air bag 9 is folded in the center. The fold portion is directed to the back, one end is fixed near the toe portion of the footrest member 3, and the other end is fixed near the toe portion of the outer boot 5. FIG. 1 shows a state in which no air enters the air bag 9, and the toe portions of the footrest member 3 and the outer boot 5 are closed.

Next, the operation of the ankle joint exerciser 1 will be described. The ankle joint exerciser 1 is put on the user's foot and fixed with the ankle fixing belt 7 and the lower limb fixing belt 8. In addition to these belts, a belt for fixing the toe portion may be provided separately. This ankle joint exerciser 1 is small in size and has no restrictions on the place where it is used, and can be used, for example, on a bed that is usually sleeping. In this case, the user may remain in a sleeping state, or the upper body may be slightly lifted with a cushion or the like. The ankle joint exerciser 1 is placed on the bed with the lower surface 5a of the outer boot down and is worn on the user's foot.

When the wearing of the ankle exerciser 1 on the foot is completed, the air pump 14 is operated. Although there is no restriction | limiting in particular as this air pump 14, For example, the thing with the controller currently used for the air massager can be used. An air pump for an air massager is convenient because it can freely set and adjust the cycle of air in and out, the pressure of air, etc., and is inexpensive and easily available. As the air is supplied from the air pump 14 to the air bag 9, the air bag 9 expands and changes its shape from a folded state to a straight state. As the air bag 9 expands, the footrest member 3 rotates about the rotation support member 6 and the toe portion of the footrest member 3 is lifted as shown in FIG.

The outer bag 11 plays an important role in the inflation of the air bag 9. Assuming that the air bag 9 is composed of only the elastic inner bag 10, the inner bag 10 is not restricted by the supply of air, that is, only inflates in the lateral direction of the ankle exerciser 1. It does not expand sufficiently in the direction of lifting the toe portion of the footrest member 3. However, in this invention, the non-stretchable outer bag 11 is provided, so that the bulging of the inner bag 10 in the lateral direction is restricted. Therefore, in order to obtain a volume enough for the supplied air to enter, the air bag 9 must be deformed from a folded state to a straight state, and the footrest member 3 as shown in FIG. A movement to lift the toe of the toe is realized. The bellows-shaped air bag described in Patent Literature 1 cannot provide an outer bag that restricts deformation. Therefore, even if air is supplied to the air bag, the bellows expands in the lateral direction, and the bellows is not opened and the action of rotating the inclined plate on which the foot is placed does not occur.

When the toes are sufficiently raised, the air is discharged from the air bag 9 next. As a result, the air bag 9 returns to the half-folded state shown in FIG. 1, and the toes are lowered. By repeating this operation, the dorsiflexion motion of the ankle joint is repeated, and contraction of the ankle joint can be prevented. Moreover, since the muscles of the larvae are expanded and contracted with the movement of the ankle joint, an effect of improving the blood circulation of the lower limbs is also produced.

Since the ankle joint exerciser of the present invention uses air pressure as a driving source, there is little possibility that an excessive force is applied to the user. Even if a strong force is likely to be applied for some reason, the air pressure is applied in the direction of weak resistance. Therefore, if the user puts a force on the foot and resists it, the toe portion of the footrest member 3 will not rise. Also, controlling the output of the air pump is easier than controlling the mechanical force of the electric motor, and sensors and the like need only be provided on the air pump side. There is no increase in size.

The ankle joint exerciser 1 can be used by using only one unit and only one leg or each leg, but two ankle joint exercisers 1 may be attached to both feet simultaneously. Since the ankle exerciser 1 of the present invention is small in size, it does not get in the way even if two units are placed on the bed. When worn on both feet, the left and right ankle joint exerciser can be operated alternately to reproduce a natural motion close to a walking state.

The ankle joint exerciser 1 of the present invention is sufficiently compact and convenient for storage even in the example shown in FIG. 1, but it is more convenient for storage if the outer boot 5 is folded in two and folded when not in use. Become. In this case, a connecting portion for folding may be provided near the rotation support member 6, and the upper portion may be folded together with the inner boot 4 by rotating around the connecting portion. In addition, by configuring the connection of the outer boot 5 divided vertically so that it can be fixed, the rest position of the ankle dorsiflexion movement can be set arbitrarily, and the range of dorsiflexion movement (toe up and down) It is also possible to adjust the angle range).

As described above, the application for preventing ankle contracture of a person hospitalized for an acute disease has been described as an example, but the application range of the ankle joint exercise device of the present invention is not limited to this. It is a small, inexpensive device that is easy to use, so it can be used to care for the frail elderly at home. Since there is also an effect of improving blood circulation in the foot, it is possible to prevent the formation of thrombus in the lower limbs, and it can be applied as a device for preventing so-called economy class syndrome in which the thrombus is carried to the lungs and causes respiratory disorder.

The ankle exercise apparatus of the present invention can safely perform an action simulating a limb flexion movement of a manual ankle, and assists in rehabilitation for those who are hospitalized for acute diseases or who receive care at home. It can be used as a tool.

It is a side view of an ankle joint exercise machine, and shows a rest position (state where a toe fell). It is a side view of an ankle joint exercise machine, and shows a dorsiflexion position (state where the toe is raised). It is sectional drawing which shows the detail of an air bag.

Explanation of symbols

1. 1. Ankle articulator 2. Lower limb fixing member 3. Foot rest member Inner boot 5. Outer boots6. 6. Rotation support member Ankle fixation belt8. Lower limb fixation belt9. Air bag 10. Inner bag 11. Outer bag 12. Air inlet / outlet 13. Rubber tube 14. air pump

Claims (1)

A lower limb fixing member, a footrest member rotatably provided on the lower limb fixing member, and a folded belt-shaped air bag provided under the footrest member, the air bag being an inner bag made of an elastic body And an ankle joint exerciser having an outer bag made of a non-stretchable material.

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