JP6534321B2 - Knee support - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a knee support for protecting a knee joint, and more particularly to a knee support for relieving bone contact at the knee joint and relieving knee pain by extending the knee joint with a telescopic member after attaching the support. .

  Conventionally, knee supporters for protecting knee joints have been used for sports, medical and nursing care. In recent years, the proportion of middle-aged and elderly people with knee pain is also increasing. The cause of the pain in the knee is the contact between the femur on the thigh side and the tibia on the lower leg side due to the wear of the knee cartilage.

  A supporter shown in FIG. 7 is known as a knee supporter protecting a knee joint. The knee support 100 has a support body 101 and a pair of left and right fixed belts 102 and 103, and is formed of a stretchable cloth sheet. The fixing belt portions 102 and 103 are each formed in a ribbon shape exhibiting a gentle curve which gradually spreads in the vertical direction from both end portions of the supporter main body 101.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, after aligning the supporter main body 101 with the knee sole, the upper belt portion 102A and the lower belt portion 102B of the fixed belt portion 102 on the engagement side are respectively rotated to the patella 104 side The upper belt portion 103A and the lower belt portion 103B of the fastening belt portion 103 on the engagement side are pulled toward the patella 104 side and rotated.

  As shown in FIG. 8B, the upper side belt portion 103A and the lower side belt portion 103B on the engagement side are overlapped on the upper side belt portion 102A and the lower side belt portion 102B on the engagement side, and are engaged respectively. The knee support 100 is attached to the knee joint (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP, 2013-236840, A

  By using the knee support 100 having the fixing belts 102 and 103, the user can adjust the degree of tightening of the knee support 100 in accordance with the symptoms of his / her pain and the purpose of use, and the knee support 100 provides knees. The joints can be protected properly. For example, as in the elderly, when the function of the ligament supporting the knee joint or the quadriceps femoris muscle is reduced and the knee joint shakes, the knee joint femur and tibia contact and knee pain develops In addition, the knee support 100 can be firmly tightened to fix the knee joint to cope with the pain of the knee.

  However, if knee cartilage is worn away and the femur and tibia of the knee joint come into contact and pain in the knee develops, the knee joint can be used as a knee support 100 while the femur and tibia are easily in contact with each other. Even if it is fixed firmly, it is difficult to prevent the contact between the femur and the tibia, and there is a problem that it is not a method of fundamentally eliminating knee pain.

  That is, in the conventional knee support 100, although it is possible to fix firmly to the knee joint and support the bending motion of the knee joint and the like, the separation distance at which the femur and the tibia easily contact is already easy. There is a problem that it is difficult to relieve the contact state and relieve the pain of the knee with respect to the knee joint in the state.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and after the knee support is firmly fixed to the knee joint, the knee support is extended by using a telescopic member to extend the knee joint. It is an object of the present invention to provide a knee support for relieving bone contact at joints and relieving knee pain.

The knee support of the present invention is disposed around a knee joint of a leg, and includes a main body made of a knitted fabric, and a first mounting portion which is continuous with the main body and attached to a thigh around the knee joint. A knee support having a second mounting portion continuous with the main body and attached to a lower thigh around the knee joint, the supporter for knees being located inside and outside the knee joint and from the thigh It has a pair of storage sections, which are arranged on the main body section so as to be positioned up to the lower leg, and are made of the knitted fabric, and an expansion and contraction member which is stored in the storage section and extends and contracts in the longitudinal direction of the legs. The telescopic member is a cylindrical member made of a flexible resin, and the telescopic member extends in the longitudinal direction of the leg by air being injected after the first and second mounting portions are mounted. It is characterized by

  In the knee support of the present invention, the fabric of the main body portion is stretchable in the longitudinal direction of the leg and is formed of a knitted fabric in which the stretchability in the direction along the periphery of the leg is suppressed. An extendable member which extends and contracts in the longitudinal direction of the leg is disposed. With this structure, after the knee support is attached around the knee joint, the stretchable member extends in the longitudinal direction of the leg, and the main body also extends in the longitudinal direction of the leg, and the femur and tibia of the knee joint are restored. By returning to a position close to the position of the femur, it is possible to ease the contact between the femur and the tibia and relieve the pain of the knee.

  Further, in the knee support of the present invention, the storage portion for storing the stretchable member is sewn to the main body portion, and the storage portion is formed of a knitted fabric having stretchability in the longitudinal direction of the same leg as the main body portion. According to this structure, by the stretchable member extending in the longitudinal direction of the leg, the main body portion and the storage portion also extend in the longitudinal direction of the leg, so that the contact between the femur and the tibia can be alleviated and the pain of the knee can be alleviated.

  Further, in the knee support of the present invention, the stretchable member is a cylindrical member made of a flexible resin, and the stretchable member is characterized by extending in the longitudinal direction of the leg when air is injected. With this structure, the knee support can support the knee joint with pressure from both sides, thereby relaxing the contact between the femur and the tibia, alleviating the pain of the knee, and supporting the knee flexion and extension movement.

It is a figure which shows the supporter for knees of one Embodiment of this invention, (A) is a front view which shows the supporter for knees from surface side, (B) is a back view which shows the supporter for knees from a back surface side. It is a figure which shows the supporter for knees of one Embodiment of this invention, (A) is a front view which shows the mounting state of the supporter for knees from a front side, (B) is a mounting state of the supporter for knees from a back side. It is a rear view which shows. It is a figure which shows the supporter for knees of one Embodiment of this invention, (A) is a side view which shows the expansion-contraction member stored in the storage part before mounting, (B) is stored in the storage part after mounting It is a side view which shows the elastic member. It is a figure showing the state at the time of wearing of the supporter for knees of one embodiment of the present invention, (A) is a side view showing the state where an elastic member was contracted, (B) shows the state where the elastic member was extended. It is a side view. It is a figure which shows the state at the time of mounting | wearing of the supporter for knees of one Embodiment of this invention, (A) is a side view of the supporter for knees, (B) is a side view of the expansion-contraction member accommodated in the storage part. is there. It is a figure which shows the expansion-contraction member used for the supporter for knees of other embodiment of this invention, It is a side view which shows a contracted state before mounting, It is a side view which shows the extended state after mounting (B). (C) It is a side view showing the bent state after wearing. It is the reverse view which saw the conventional supporter for knees from the back side. It is an (A) perspective view and a (B) perspective view which show the mounting method of the conventional supporter for knees.

  Hereinafter, a knee support according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

  FIG. 1A is a front view illustrating the structure viewed from the front surface side of the knee support, and FIG. 1B is a back view illustrating the structure viewed from the back surface side of the knee support. FIG. 2 (A) is a front view illustrating the mounting state of the knee supporter viewed from the front side of the knee, and FIG. 2 (B) is a rear view illustrating the mounting state of the knee supporter viewed from the back side is there. FIG. 3 (A) is a side view for explaining a contracted state before mounting of the expandable member used for the knee support, and FIG. 3 (B) is an expanded state after mounting of the expandable member used for the knee support It is a side view explaining. FIG. 4A is a side view for explaining the condition of the knee joint in a contracted state of the elastic member of the knee support, and FIG. 4B is a knee joint in the expanded state of the elastic member of the knee support. It is a side view explaining a situation. FIG. 5 (A) is a side view for explaining the state of knee flexion and extension with the knee support attached, and FIG. 5 (B) is a knee support attached and the state of the elastic member during knee flexion and extension It is a side view explaining.

  In the following description, the paper plane Y-axis direction is the longitudinal direction of the leg, and the paper plane X-axis direction is the direction orthogonal to the paper plane Y-axis direction, and the tangential direction along the leg In the following description, the “direction around the

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the knee support 1 mainly includes a main body portion 2 covering the periphery of the knee joint and a pair of attachment portions formed continuously with the main body portion 2 and formed on the upper end side and the lower end side thereof. 3 and 4, the reinforcing portion 5 of the cutting line, the circular opening 6 formed in the main body 2 for exposing the region of the patella (not shown), and both sides of the opening 6 of the main body 2 It has a pair of storage parts 7 and 8 formed, and elastic members 9 and 10 (refer to Drawing 3) arranged in storage parts 7 and 8.

  The main body portion 2 and the mounting portions 3 and 4 are formed using, for example, a knitted fabric knitted by a known warp knitting machine, and are formed by cutting one knitted fabric into the illustrated shape. And the reinforcement part 5 is formed along the cutting line, for example, it is formed by stitching a tape, other cloths, etc. so that the cutting line of a knitted fabric may be pinched, and it is twisted in the cutting area of a knitted fabric. Is prevented.

  The knitted fabric expands and contracts in one direction, and the expansion and contraction in the direction orthogonal to the one direction are suppressed by the knitting method. Then, the main body portion 2 and the mounting portions 3 and 4 expand and contract in the longitudinal direction of the leg (in the Y-axis direction in the drawing), and the expansion and contraction in the circumferential direction of the leg (in the X-axis in the drawing) is suppressed. It is cut from a knitted fabric.

  The mounting portions 3 and 4 are cut from the knitted fabric so as to be an integral structure with the main body portion 2 and extend from both ends of the main body portion 2 in the circumferential direction of the legs (in the X-axis direction of the drawing). For example, a fastening portion using a surface fastener is sewn to the mounting portions 3 and 4 and the loops 11 and 12 are respectively disposed on one side and the hooks 13 and 14 on the other side (see FIG. 1B). Is sewn. In addition, as a structure of an engagement part, it is not limited to a surface fastener, and it should just be a structure which can fix the mounting parts 3 and 4, such as a button and a fastener.

  The mounting portion 3 is fixed to the thigh 19 (see FIG. 2) side of the leg, and the mounting portion 4 is fixed to the lower thigh 20 (see FIG. 2) side of the leg. Is arranged longer than the hooks 13 and 14 in the circumferential direction of the leg (in the X-axis direction in the drawing), the user can select the fixing point of the mounting portions 3 and 4. Adjustment is possible.

  The opening 6 is formed in a circular shape in the central region of the main body 2, and when the knee support 1 is attached to the knee joint, a region of a patella (not shown) is exposed from the opening 6. The range of motion of the knee joint is likely to widen. As mentioned above, the reinforcement part 5 is formed in the cutting line of a knitted fabric.

  The housings 7 and 8 are respectively formed on both sides of the opening 6 of the main body 2 and are disposed to extend in the longitudinal direction of the leg (in the direction of the Y-axis in the drawing). The storage sections 7 and 8 store the stretchable members 9 and 10, and have a pocket shape whose upper end is opened, for example, in order to put the stretchable members 9 and 10 in and out. Then, after the stretchable members 9 and 10 are stored in the storage portions 7 and 8, lids 15 and 16 for closing the opening 6 are provided so that the stretchable members 9 and 10 do not protrude from the opening 6. It is sutured to the main body 2. The lids 15 and 16 are detachably fixed to the storages 7 and 8 by, for example, a button, a hook or the like.

  Although the details will be described later, when, for example, a tube used for a bicycle tire is used as the expandable members 9 and 10, the expandable and expandable members can be expanded and contracted by injecting air into the tube or removing air from the tube. Expansion and contraction of the members 9 and 10 are performed. The housings 7 and 8 are provided with air injection holes 17 and 18 for injecting air into the tube from the outside. In the present embodiment, for example, the valves 21 and 22 (see FIG. 3) of the tube are led out of the housings 7 and 8 through the air injection holes 17 and 18, and the tip of the inflating device is the tube It is connected to the valves 21 and 22. Then, the user can inject air into the tube in a state where the knee support 1 is attached, expand and contract the stretchable members 9 and 10.

  The storage sections 7 and 8 are formed by cutting the same knitted fabric as the main body section 2. Then, the storage sections 7 and 8 also expand and contract in the longitudinal direction of the leg (in the Y-axis direction of the sheet), and to the main body portion 2 so as to suppress expansion and contraction in the circumferential direction of the leg Sutured. Although details will be described later, the storage portions 7 and 8 and the main body portion 2 expand and contract in the longitudinal direction of the leg (in the Y-axis direction in the drawing), so that the elastic members 9 and 10 are mounted after the knee support 1 is attached. By stretching the knee support, the knee support 1 can also expand and contract in the longitudinal direction of the leg (in the direction of the Y-axis in the drawing), so that the pain in the knee can be alleviated.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the back surface side of the knee support 1 is a mounting surface, and hooks 13 and 14 are sewn on the mounting portions 3 and 4.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the opening 6 of the knee support 1 is aligned with the region of the patella (not shown), and the mounting portion 3 is placed on the thigh 19 of the leg around the knee joint. The knee support 1 is attached to the knee joint by fixing so as to wind and fixing so as to wind the mounting portion 4 around the lower thigh 20 around the knee joint.

  At this time, the storage sections 7 and 8 are disposed in a pair on the outer surface side extending to the inner surface side of the leg, and are disposed from the lower thigh 20 to the thigh 19 including the knee joint. That is, the storage sections 7 and 8 are disposed so as to sandwich the knee joint from inside and outside along the collateral ligament supporting the knee joint.

  As described above, the knee support 1 is formed of a knitted fabric which is expanded and contracted in the longitudinal direction of the leg (in the Y-axis direction in the plane of the drawing) and in which expansion and contraction is suppressed in the circumferential direction of the leg (in the X-axis direction of the drawing) ing. With this structure, after the knee support 1 is attached to the knee joint, the stretchable members 9 and 10 (see FIG. 3) are extended to extend the knee support 1 in the longitudinal direction of the leg (in the Y-axis direction of the paper surface) .

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the stretchable members 9 and 10 are stored in a contracted state in the storage portions 7 and 8 of the knee support 1, and after the knee support 1 is attached to the knee joint, the stretchable members 9 and 10 can expand and contract. The members 9 and 10 are stretched and used.

  The elastic members 9 and 10 may be made of, for example, a material which is excellent in elasticity and durability, such as a cylindrical tube used for a bicycle tire, and which is reduced in weight, and an elastic resin material having flexibility. Used.

  In the present embodiment, the expandable members 9 and 10 are formed using the tube of the bicycle tire, and the tube is cut to a desired length, for example, so that the valves 21 and 22 of the tube are located at the central portion. The both ends of the open tube are closed by suturing or the like so as not to leak air. Then, by using the valves 21 and 22 of the tube, it is possible to inject air into the tube or to extract air from the tube.

  As illustrated, the tubes as the expansion and contraction members 9 and 10 are bent in half at the points of the valves 21 and 22, and the valves 21 and 22 are air injection holes 17 and 18 of the housings 7 and 8 (see FIG. 1) The telescopic members 9 and 10 are housed in the housings 7 and 8 so as to lead out from the housing.

  The length of the storage sections 7 and 8 is such a length that a contracted tube is stored while being slightly bent into a substantially V shape, and the width of the storage sections 7 and 8 is a bent tube It is slightly wide enough to be stored with room for expansion.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (B), after the knee support 1 is attached to the knee joint, air is injected into the tubes as the expansion and contraction members 9 and 10 to fully inflate the tubes to make the tubes straight. As described above, the main body 2 and the storage portions 7 and 8 are made of a knitted fabric that can be easily expanded and contracted in the longitudinal direction of the leg (in the Y-axis direction of the page). Axially).

  In FIG. 4 (A) and FIG. 4 (B), the femur and tibia which comprise a knee joint are shown in figure by the dotted line. In FIG. 4 (B), although the distance between the femur and the tibia is widely illustrated for the convenience of explaining and explaining the effect of the present embodiment, in fact, the femur and the tibia are originally formed. There is no particular problem in terms of health.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the knee support 1 first secures the mounting portion 3 firmly to the thigh 19 side and secures the mounting portion 4 firmly to the thigh 20 side. is there. In this state, the separation distance between the femur 23 and the tibia 24 is the same as that before the installation of the knee support 1. For example, aging or injury may extend a ligament supporting the knee joint, or the knee cartilage may be worn away. In this case, even after the knee support 1 is attached, the femur 23 and the tibia 24 are in contact, and it is difficult to reduce knee pain.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4B, after the knee support 1 is attached to the knee joint, the stretchable members 9 and 10 are extended to extend the knee support 1 in the longitudinal direction of the leg (in the Y-axis direction of the sheet). As a result, the separation distance between the femur 23 and the tibia 24 is also expanded to be closer to the original state than the state before the knee support 1 is attached.

  As described above, the ligament supporting the knee joint is elongated due to aging or injury, and the muscle strength around the knee joint is reduced, so that the distance between the femur 23 and the tibia 24 is reduced, and the walking is performed according to the condition. It is thought that the knee cartilage is worn away as a cause.

  That is, in the knee support 1, the knee joint is extended in a state of being pressurized by the expandable members 9 and 10 made of the expanded tube, and the femur 23 and the tibia 24 are supported in the direction of returning to the original position. Contact between the femur 23 and the tibia 24 can be reduced, and knee pain can be alleviated.

  Furthermore, the weight of the user makes it easy for the knee joint to reduce the distance between the femur 23 and the tibia 24 again. However, the expandable members 9 and 10 made of a tube are expanded by the injected air and are difficult to shrink in the longitudinal direction of the leg (in the Y-axis direction in the drawing), and by pressing from both sides of the knee joint to support the knee joint , The femur 23 and the tibia 24 can be fixed at a position near the original position.

  In addition, since the expandable members 9 and 10 are made of a tube into which air is injected, an effect of pressing from both sides of the knee joint and supporting the collateral ligament of the knee joint from both sides can be obtained. As the collateral ligament supporting the knee joint is stretched due to aging or injury, the knee joint is easily shaken, the femur 23 and the tibia 24 come into contact, and pain in the knee is developed. However, by arranging both sides of the knee joint along the collateral ligament supporting the knee joint, it is possible to prevent the knee joint from shaking.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the knee support 1 is firmly fixed to the knee joint, and the knee support 1 also bends in conjunction with the knee flexion and extension. In particular, the storage portions 7 and 8 disposed in the longitudinal direction of the leg (in the Y-axis direction in the drawing) and the elastic members 9 and 10 therein (see FIG. 3) bend in conjunction with the bending and stretching operation of the knee.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, the expandable members 9 and 10 made of a tube are made of an elastic resin material having flexibility, and are bent in conjunction with the bending and stretching operation of the knee. At this time, the expandable members 9 and 10 made of a tube exert a force to return to the original straight state, and can support the rising motion of the middle and old aged people and the injured person who have fallen in strength, and the rising motion of stairs and hills.

  In addition, the expandable members 9 and 10 made of a tube have a cylindrical shape, and can be bent in any direction, so that they move more like knee flexion and extension movements, and the user's discomfort can be reduced.

  In addition, although the supporter for knees of this embodiment was formed using the knitted fabric which is expanded and contracted in the longitudinal direction of a leg by the warp knitting machine, it is not limited to this case. For example, the knee support is formed of a stretchable fabric, and for example, a plurality of stitch-like suture lines are formed in the longitudinal direction of the leg and arranged at regular intervals in the circumferential direction of the leg. In the case of realizing a knee support that is mainly expanded and contracted in the longitudinal direction of the leg and the expansion and contraction in the circumferential direction of the leg is suppressed by the suture line.

  Further, the elastic members 9 and 10 of the knee support are not limited to flexible elastic resin materials such as tubes. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, elastic members such as a coil spring 31 and a plate spring can be used as the expansion and contraction members 9 and 10, respectively. As shown in FIG. 6 (A), before installing the knee support 1, the coil spring 31 is retracted and stored in the storage sections 7 and 8. As shown in FIG. 6 (B), the knee support 1 is By releasing the contracted state of the coil spring 31 after the mounting, the coil spring 31 can be extended, and the knee support 1 can be extended in the longitudinal direction of the leg (in the Y-axis direction in the drawing). And the effect by the structure using this coil spring 31 is as above-mentioned. Further, as shown in FIG. 6C, the force of the coil spring 31 returning to the straight state can be used even during bending and stretching of the knee. At this time, the width of the storage sections 7 and 8 may be any width that can store the coil spring 31, and the extension force of the coil spring 31 can be easily transmitted in the longitudinal direction of the leg (in the Y-axis direction in the drawing). Other various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Knee supporter 2 Body part 3 Mounting part 4 Mounting part 5 Reinforcement part 6 Opening part 7 Storage part 8 Storage part 9 Storage part 10 Expansion and contraction member 15 Lid part 16 Lid part 17 Air injection hole 18 Air injection hole 19 Thigh part 20 Lower thigh 23 femur 24 tibia

Claims (1)

The knee is arranged around the knee joint of the leg, and a main body made of a knitted fabric , a first mounting part which is continuous with the main body and attached to the thigh around the knee joint, and which is continuous with the main body A knee support having a second attachment portion attached to the lower leg around the joint,
A pair of storage sections made of the knitted fabric, which are disposed on the main body so as to be located inside and outside the knee joint and located from the thigh to the lower thigh;
And a telescopic member which is housed in the housing portion and which is expanded and contracted in the longitudinal direction of the leg,
The telescopic member is a cylindrical member made of a flexible resin, and the telescopic member extends in the longitudinal direction of the leg by air being injected after the first and second mounting portions are mounted. Knee supporter characterized by.

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