JP2010075628A - Cushion member for lower limb orthosis - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cushion member, not causing swelling or pain even when a calf fastening belt touches on the calf in walking, and not fixed to a lower limb orthosis to facilitate washing or replacement of the cushion member. <P>SOLUTION: The cushion member 2 is used together with the lower limb orthosis 1 including an instep fastening belt 11 and the calf fastening belt 12. The member 2 includes: an annular knit cloth 21 with a pocket 22 applied to a part of the leg on which the calf fastening belt 12 touches; and a cushion material 23 removably put in the pocket 22. The pocket 22 is provided in a portion of the annular knit cloth 21 that covers at least the shin. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cushion member that is used together with a lower limb orthosis having a calf fastening belt to relieve pain when the calf fastening belt hits the far shin.

  When the body and lower limbs are paralyzed due to a stroke or a traffic accident, it is common to wear lower limb orthoses during walking. Currently, various types of lower limb orthoses are commercially available, but it is common to use a plastic lower limb orthosis molded into the shape of each person's lower limb. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-7311 (Patent Document 1) discloses an integral plastic orthosis body that holds the sole of a foot and a calf, an upper belt for fixing an instep to the orthosis body, Disclosed is a short leg brace having a calf fastening belt for attaching the calf to the upper part of the calf and fixing the calf to the brace body. A plurality of calf receiving portions are mounted on the inner side of the portion of the appliance main body that is the same height as the calf fastening belt.

Since a person wearing a lower limb orthosis usually cannot support the weight with an ankle, the entire weight is applied to the calf fastening belt during walking. For this reason, it has been found that when the calf fastening belt hits the shin, the shin is swollen and accompanied by significant pain even if the calf receiving portion is provided. In addition, since the calf fastening belt is fixed to the plastic orthosis body, the lower leg orthosis cannot be used while washing the calf receiving part fixed to the belt. Furthermore, even when the elasticity of the calf receiving part deteriorates due to long-term use, there is also a problem that it is difficult to easily replace it.
JP 2007-7311 A

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cushion member that is not fixed to the lower limb orthosis so that it does not cause swelling or pain even when the belt for tightening the shin is in contact with the shin during walking, and is easy to wash or replace the cushioning material. That is.

  As a result of earnest research in view of the above object, the present inventor has provided a cushion member made of an annular knitted fabric having a pocket for detachably storing a cushion material together with a lower limb orthosis having an upper belt and a calf fastening belt. It was discovered that, when worn on the foot, the belt for tightening the shin of the lower limb orthosis can walk while preventing swelling and pain caused by hitting the shin on the other side, and the present invention has been conceived.

  That is, the cushion member of the present invention used together with the lower limb orthosis comprising the upper fastening belt and the calf fastening belt, the annular knitted fabric with pockets to be attached to the part of the foot against which the calf fastening belt hits, A cushioning material that is detachably inserted into the pocket, wherein the pocket is provided at a portion of the annular knitted fabric that covers at least the shin.

  The cushion material is preferably made of sponge. It is preferable that the annular knitted fabric has a tightening force enough to prevent the annular knitted fabric from slipping off from the foot when attached to the foot.

  Since the cushion member of the present invention has a cushioning material that covers the portion of the shin against which the belt for tightening the shin of the lower limb orthosis hits, it is possible to prevent the shin from swelling or aching due to the belt hitting during walking. In addition, since it is a separate body from the lower limb orthosis, there is no inconvenience that the lower limb orthosis cannot be used when washing, if a plurality of them are prepared. Furthermore, since the cushion material can be detachably accommodated in the pocket provided in the annular knitted fabric, it can be easily replaced when the elasticity of the cushion material is lowered. Since the annular knitted fabric can be easily attached to the foot with one hand and does not slip even when the lower limb orthosis is worn, even a person who is not half-body can easily wear the lower limb orthosis.

[1] Lower limb orthosis FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example of the lower limb orthosis 1. The lower limb orthosis 1 includes a plastic orthosis body 10 molded to fit each person's foot, an upper belt 11 fixed to the orthosis body 10 so as to fix the upper part of the foot, and a calf part. In addition, a calf fastening belt 12 fixed to the orthosis main body 10 is provided, and a fixture (only the fixtures 12a and 12b of the calf fastening belt 12 are shown) on the mating surfaces of the belts 11 and 12. Is provided. One of the fixtures 12a and 12b has a number of loops, and the other has a number of hooks. Such a fixture is commercially available as Velcro (registered trademark). One end of each of the belts 11 and 12 is fixed to the appliance main body 10 with a screw 13 or the like, and the tip end side is folded back through a flat ring member 14 provided in a portion of the appliance main body 10 facing the screw 13. ing. After placing the orthosis body 10 on the foot, the belts 11 and 12 are appropriately squeezed and fixed with the fixing tools 12a and 12b.

[2] Cushion Member FIG. 3 shows the cushion member 2 of the present invention. The cushion member 2 includes an annular knitted fabric 21 with a pocket 22 that is attached to a portion of the foot against which the calf fastening belt 12 hits, and a cushion material 23 that is detachably accommodated in the pocket 22. The annular knitted fabric 21 is formed of a stretchable material with an inner diameter that does not slip off when worn on the foot. As long as these conditions are satisfied, the material of the annular knitted fabric 21 may be natural fibers or synthetic fibers. Further, the width of the annular knitted fabric 21 is not limited as long as it is sufficiently larger than the calf fastening belt 12.

  The pocket 22 is provided in a portion of the annular knitted fabric 21 that covers at least the shin. This is because the far shin is the most painful part of the foot part that hits during walking. As is apparent from FIG. 1, since the lateral movement of the foot is restricted by the plastic orthosis main body 10, the foot is movable only in the front-rear direction around the heel. Since the calf is held over the entire surface of the plastic orthosis body 10, it does not hurt when walking. However, since the shin is supported only by the calf fastening belt 12, a large force is applied to the calf fastening belt 12. Therefore, the shin which hits the calf fastening belt 12 is very painful and often swelled due to bones directly under the skin. Therefore, the pocket 22 needs to be provided at least in a portion covering the shin so that the cushion member 23 is positioned between the shin and the calf fastening belt 12. Of course, the pocket 22 may be provided on the entire annular knitted fabric 21, but the cushion material 23 may be long enough to cover the shin. Since the annular knitted fabric 21 including the pocket 22 is formed of a stretchable material, the cushion material 23 does not fall off even if the pocket 22 is not provided with a lid.

  The cushion material 23 may be of any form as long as it has sufficient elasticity and flexibility, and may be made of, for example, sponge, rubber, flexible gel or the like. However, felt is not effective in preventing pain and swelling because it lacks elasticity and flexibility. Examples of the sponge include urethane foam, polypropylene foam, polyethylene foam, and silicone foam. The sponge may be a simple substance, or may be a combination of a highly foamed one and a low highly foamed one. Since the rubber needs not only elasticity but also flexibility, silicone rubber and urethane rubber are preferable. The flexible gel is a high impact absorbing gel-like silicone and is commercially available as Alpha Gel (registered trademark). Among these, sponge is preferable because it is inexpensive.

  The elasticity of the cushion material 23 may be reduced by long-term use. In that case, since it is a form accommodated in the pocket 22, it can be easily replaced with a new cushion material 23.

  FIG. 4 shows a procedure for mounting the cushion member 2 on the foot together with the lower limb orthosis 1. As shown in (a), the lower limb orthosis 1 and the cushion member 2 to be attached to the foot 3 (the portion close to the bone 4 is the opposite shin 3a) are prepared, and the cushion member 2 is first so that the cushion material 23 covers the shin 3a. On the foot [(b)]. Finally, the lower limb orthosis 1 is mounted on the foot from above the cushion member 2, the tip end side of the calf fastening belt 12 is bent through the ring member 14, and firmly fixed by the fixing devices 12a and 12b. If the position of the cushion member 23 is not optimum, the calf fastening belt 12 may be released and the cushion member 2 may be moved to an appropriate position.

  As described above, the cushion member of the present invention has been described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without changing the gist thereof. For example, the pocket 22 may be provided with a lid. The size and the like of the cushion member (width, size and position of the pocket 22) may be appropriately determined so as to be compatible with any shape of the lower limb orthosis 1 currently used.

It is an example of the lower limb orthosis using the cushion member of this invention, Comprising: It is a perspective view which shows the state in which the upper belt and the calf fastening belt were opened. It is an example of the lower limb orthosis using the cushion member of this invention, Comprising: It is a perspective view which shows the state in which the upper belt and the calf fastening belt were closed. It is a perspective view which shows the cushion member of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the procedure which equips a leg | foot with the cushion member and lower limbs orthosis of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Lower limb orthosis
10 ... Plastic brace body
11 ... Casting belt
12 ... Belt for tightening calves 2 ... Cushion member
21 ... Annular knitted fabric
22 ... Pocket
23 ・ ・ ・ Cushion material

Claims (3)

A cushion member for use with a lower limb orthosis comprising an upper belt and a calf belt, and an annular knitted fabric with a pocket to be attached to a leg portion against which the calf belt is hit, and a detachable attachment to the pocket A cushion member characterized by comprising: a cushion material that can be freely inserted; and the pocket is provided in a portion of the annular knitted fabric that covers at least the shin. The cushion member according to claim 1, wherein the cushion material is made of sponge. 3. The cushion member according to claim 1, wherein the annular knitted fabric has a tightening force enough to prevent the annular knitted fabric from slipping off from the foot when attached to the foot.

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