JPH019547Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a patellar brace for protection, correction, and pain relief used in orthosis therapy for patellofemoral disorders, particularly patellar disorders.

[Background and prior art] Patellofemoral disorders should be treated with therapy depending on the pathological condition, that is, the type and severity of the symptoms.
Among these, surgical therapy for severe disorders has been well studied and applied. However, conservative therapy, especially orthotic therapy, for mild disorders has not received much research at present, and it can be said that there is no method that is particularly suitable for this.

Conventional braces significantly restrict the user's mobility when worn, which interferes with daily life, which can easily cause functional disorders in other parts of the body, and women, in particular, do not wear braces for aesthetic reasons. This is because it has drawbacks such as the tendency to avoid it.

For example, it has recently become a problem that a considerable number of female junior high school and high school athletic club members (particularly volleyball and basketball club members) complain of patellar abnormalities. This is when the patella moves horizontally to the outside (i.e. towards the peroneal muscle side), but since there are many unknowns such as the cause of the occurrence and why it is more common among girls, no drastic treatment is possible, and it is almost the only method available. Attempts are made to correct the condition by wearing appliances, but these appliances are generally difficult to handle, large, and rugged, making them look strange and noticeable.

In the first place, the knee joint is a joint located between the lower end of the femur 1, the upper end of the tibia 2, and the rear surface of the patella 3, as shown in Fig. 1, and the joint capsule 4 of these bones, as well as the medial and lateral sides. A large number of ligaments, such as the accessory ligament 5 and the cruciate ligament 7 in the joint cavity 6, bind the knee and at the same time limit the direction and range of movement.

Since the reinforcement provided by these muscles is extremely strong (this can be easily understood from the fact that, for example, traumatic dislocations are relatively rare and fractures are more likely to occur), when a failure occurs, the reinforcement force is balanced. It collapses strongly and immediately affects other parts. The most obvious example is the patella.
It is. In addition, especially when attempting to treat patellar subluxation, patellar chondromalacia, etc. with orthotic therapy, all bones and muscles move and change in a complicated manner as the patient bends and stretches, so it is difficult to simply apply strong traction. Fixation alone was not a cure, and in that sense fixation itself was difficult.

Therefore, when looking at conventional knee braces, there are many that contain and fix the patella (that is, give direction to the movement of the patella and do not restrict it to only one side); All of the fenestrations that matched the size of the patella were made of a cylindrical piece of elastic fabric, similar to knee supports for sports, and were fixed with a patella fixation arm (mostly made of rubber).

[Problem to be solved by the invention] This cylindrical item has a structural characteristic that makes it difficult to fall off after being worn, so it is certainly useful for athletes who engage in strenuous exercise. The cylindrical shape makes it very difficult for people with patella disorders, even those with mild injuries that require support from others, to wear them because they have to bend their body or legs deeply in order to wear them. I can say that it is difficult. In addition, in the case of a cylindrical brace, the pressure applied to the patella decreases depending on the stage of healing, which is quite cumbersome, and since it tightens a wide area above and below the patella, it reduces mobility. It had the disadvantage that it was extremely limited.

[Means for solving the problem] Therefore, the present inventor has completed the present invention as a lightweight patella brace that is easy to handle and does not cause discomfort, without compromising the therapeutic effect, and its characteristics are as follows: However, this is a patella protection, correction, and pain relief device that has a fixing part that fixes the patella and a hole that exposes the patella, and one connecting belt is attached to each end of the fixing part. Provided with a length that can be locked across the circumference,
The fixing part has a C-shaped fixing device made of a soft elastic body that opens along the longitudinal direction of the belt, and has a non-slip part on at least a part of the back surface of the main body. At the point.

Here, the "fixing part" is a member that fixes the moving patella, but rather than directly pressing the moving patella, it has a hole that exposes it and holds it from around the hole. It is. In order to further enhance the holding effect, in the present invention, the fixing part has a C-shaped fixing member made of a soft elastic body inside thereof. In addition, one connecting belt is provided at each end of the fixing part, and the above-mentioned "C"-shaped opening exists along the longitudinal direction of the belt, so that when worn, the opening can be placed on either the left or right side. It points in the direction of. This was established based on the fact that, as mentioned above, in patients with patellar patella disorders, the patella usually moves horizontally to the outside (i.e., toward the tibialis muscle). However, when the belt is fixed, the aim is to make the pressing force on the left and right patella different. In other words, if the direction tends to sway to the right, set the opening direction of "C" to the left so that the pressing force is greater on the right side, and in the opposite case, reverse the opening direction to deal with it. I will do it.

As for the material of the soft elastic body, any material may be used as long as it has rubber-like elasticity, such as natural rubber, polyurethane foam, silicone rubber, etc.

The "connecting belt" may be fixed to the fixing part by sewing, but it may also be formed integrally. Furthermore, it is also possible to make it detachable by using a hook-and-loop fastener. Furthermore, when connecting the connecting belts, the patella brace itself generates its own patella holding force depending on the tension, so it is desirable to be able to change the tension at any time depending on the severity of the symptoms and the stage of healing. , a connection using a hook with many locking points, a hook-and-loop fastener with a long lockable portion, etc. are suitable.

The "non-slip part" is a part that improves the adhesion between the main body and the knee joint to enhance the effect of preserving the patella. That is, the brace of the present invention is fixed around the knee joint with a connecting belt, but since the brace is fixed to the knee joint surface solely by the frictional force between them, for example, after wearing the brace, it is difficult to remove the pants. This is because when worn, the brace will also rub against the pants. In order to avoid this, the present invention provides a non-slip portion on the back side of the brace. Natural or artificial rubber is thought to be suitable as this material, but any material may be used as long as it has an anti-slip effect. Furthermore, if a slippery material is used for the front side, the above effect will be further improved, the wearer will feel comfortable to wear, and there will be no slippage.

[Example] The present invention will be described in detail below based on an example shown in the drawings.

Figures 2a and 2b both show one embodiment of the present invention, where figure a is a perspective view (including a partially enlarged sectional view) of the patella brace 8, and figure b is the same as figure a. It is a bottom view seen from below. As is clear from the figure, the patella brace 8 of the present invention consists of a hole 10, a fixing part 11 surrounding it, and two belt parts 12, 12 extending from both sides of the fixing part 11. Further, the patella brace 8 is configured such that its ends can be connected to each other, and here, hook and loop fasteners 9 are used.
It depended on

Installation is extremely easy compared to cylindrical ones.
Simply position the hole 10 along the patella, wrap the belt parts 12, 12 around the joint, and fasten with the hook and loop fastener 9. Because of this shape and configuration, the fixed part is small and the whole thing is lightweight, so it doesn't feel strange and does not restrict movement, so it is almost ideal for long-term wear without any problems. It is.

Furthermore, since the attachment method is to connect the belt parts 12, 12, it is preferable that the belt part 12 is made of cloth or something similar, and has some elasticity in the left and right direction in FIG. 2b. It is considered.

Further, as is clear from FIG. 2a, a two-layer structure made of synthetic rubber and cloth with a raised surface is attached as an anti-slip portion 15 to the back surface of the main body. Alternatively, an extremely thin rubber sheet could be pasted (or sewn in, etc.) to the material of the anti-slip portion 15. In other words, materials other than the above-mentioned two-layer structure or extremely thin rubber sheet may be used as long as they do not become stiff or wrinkled when the knee is bent and do not impair the anti-slip effect due to friction.

In this figure, the anti-slip portion 15 is set at a portion around the hole 10 that faces the fixing device 13, and has an anti-slip effect, appropriate elasticity, and preferably sufficient sweat absorption. If fabric is available, it may be used for the entire back surface, and the anti-slip portion 15 does not need to be a part of the back surface.

In contrast to the back side, which includes a non-slip part, the front side should be made of a relatively slippery material to avoid friction with underwear, pants, skirts, etc. when wearing the patella brace of the present invention. This prevents the clothes from slipping and the clothes from slipping off.

It is desirable to determine the shape and size of the hole 10 depending on the shape and size of the patient's patella, but since the present device is a soft device made of cloth, rubber, etc., it is suitable for wear. It is thought that it is possible to treat a considerable number of patients with several patterns.

The fixing part 11 has inside thereof a C-shaped fixing member 13 which is located around the periphery of the hole 10 and has a certain degree of elasticity and thickness. In this example, the fixture 13 is made of silicone rubber. The fixing part 11 was then sewn between two pieces of cloth so as to sandwich the fixing tool 13 therebetween. (Of course, of these two pieces of cloth, the one that makes up the back side has the anti-slip portion 15, and a slippery fabric was used for the front side.) Next, points to be noted regarding installation will be described. The patella brace 8 in the illustrated example has a belt portion 1
By reversing left and right parts 2 and 12, fixing tool 1
The "C" opening in No. 3 can be oriented in either the left or right direction, but care must be taken that the opening direction is opposite to the direction of patella movement. In the example of FIG. 2b, that is, when the patella of the right leg (left leg) exhibits instability in the horizontal direction, that is, to the right side in the drawing, the fixing device 13
The opening direction is to the left as shown in the figure. This is because when the fixing device 13 (in this example, silicone rubber), which is a soft elastic body, is uniformly pressed against the knee joint by the patella brace 8 by the pressing force caused by the tightening of the belt portion 12, “C” is generated. ” opening side (left side of the figure)
In this case, the pressing force is reduced due to the difference in the thickness of the fixing part 11, and since the entire patella brace 8 is circumferentially fixed to the patella, combined with the presence of the anti-slip part 15, there is almost no slippage due to frictional force. Therefore, as a result, the fixing device 13 holds the patella in "C"
This is because the force is applied in the opening direction of the character shape (leftward direction in the figure).

In addition, the positional relationship between the anti-slip part 15 and the fixture 13 is such that the hole 10 is sandwiched in the figure, but this position is on the inside of the knee (center side of the body) when worn. As mentioned above, considering that the patella brace 8 of this example restricts the tendency of the patella to move horizontally to the outside, it is fixed compared to setting a non-slip part on the outside of the knee. It was clear from trial experiments that there was little misalignment in position, and it also felt comfortable to wear. This can be said to be because anatomically, there is a condylar projection at the end of the femur on the medial side of the patella, making it easy to fit the brace. However, from the viewpoint of eliminating one manufacturing step, the anti-slip portion 15 may be provided on the entire back surface of the fixing portion 11, as described above.

Further, as another example of the method of connecting the belt portion 12 using the hook-and-loop fastener 9, it is also possible to make the belt portion 12 smaller and connect it to a separate connecting belt 14 (FIG. 3). In this case, the patella brace 8 is made smaller because the belt portion 12 can be made smaller.

Next, I will talk about installation, but as mentioned above,
The patella brace 8 of the present invention can be attached and removed very easily.

As shown in Figures 4a and 4b, the patella brace 8 is applied so that the hole 10 is aligned with the patella (Figure 4a), and the belt is rolled over the back of the patella to apply pressure according to the disease. After positioning it in this way, it is fastened (see figure b), and since there are few parts that restrict the movement of the knee when it is bent, it is very easy for the patient to wear.

Generally, the direction of movement of the patella when attempting to treat with these devices is often the horizontal direction (direction perpendicular to the leg) when standing upright.
In FIGS. 4a and 4b, it is assumed that the patella tends to drift to the right side and that this patella brace 8 is used to correct this. In this case, the hole 10 is placed on the patella, and the fixture 1, which is a C-shaped soft elastic body, is placed on the patella.
3 is installed on the right side (the C-shaped opening faces left, so the anti-slip portion 15 is on the left). Next, the entire brace is pulled to the left so that an appropriate amount of force is applied to the patella.To do this, hold the belt parts 12, 12 protruding from both ends of the fixing part 11, one with each hand. You can easily do it by yourself as you just need to pull it. Next, the belt portions 12, 12 may be connected by placing both hands on the back side of the knee joint (in this case, the belt portions 12 are connected using the hook-and-loop fastener 9). This connection is naturally intended to apply pressure to the patella and to fix the brace itself, but the fixation part (the part facing the hook-and-loop fastener 9 in the figure when it is connected) is raised due to the wrapping. It also has the effect of preventing.

[Effects of the invention] As explained above, the patella brace of the invention has the following advantages:
Patella protection, which is used in orthosis therapy for knee joint disorders, and includes a fixing part for fixing a swinging patella and a hole for exposing the swinging patella;
In the correction and pain relief tool, one connecting belt is provided at each end of the fixing part with a length that can be secured across the circumferential surface of the knee, and the fixing part has an opening along the longitudinal direction of the belt. It has a C-shaped fixing device made of a soft elastic body, and is characterized by having a non-slip part on at least a part of the back surface of the main body, and is characterized by having a non-slip part on at least a part of the back surface of the main body. By abutting the C-shaped soft elastic body (fixing device), the movement of the patella can be effectively controlled simply by tightening the connecting belt, even in patients with insufficient motor function. It can be easily attached and detached by one person, and since it does not use any metal supports and is small and light, it does not feel strange when attached.Furthermore, once it is attached at one end, it does not shift due to the non-slip part on the back of the main unit. It is very practical as it has a good wearing feel and has a great therapeutic effect.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure around the knee joint, Figure 2
Figure a is a perspective view showing an example of the present invention, Figure b is a bottom view thereof, Figure 3 is a perspective view showing one using a separate belt for connection, and Figures 4 a and b both show the mounting method. Figure a is a front view and figure b is a side view. 1...femur, 2...tibia, 3...patella, 8
...Patella brace, 9...Face fastener, 10
... Hole part, 11 ... Fixed part, 12 ... Belt part,
13...Fixing tool, 14...Connection belt, 15...
Non-slip part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] 1. Patella protection, correction, and pain relief that is used for orthosis therapy for knee joint disorders and has a fixing part that fixes the moving patella and a hole that exposes the moving patella. In the device, one connecting belt is provided at each end of the fixing part with a length that can be secured across the circumferential surface of the knee, and the fixing part has a C-shape that opens along the longitudinal direction of the belt. What is claimed is: 1. A patella brace comprising a fixing device made of a soft elastic material, and having a non-slip portion on at least a portion of the back surface of the main body. 2. The patella brace according to claim 1, wherein a hook-and-loop fastener is fixed to at least one of both belts as a connecting means for connecting the belt portions protruding one by one. 3. The patella brace according to claim 1, wherein the anti-slip portion is made of natural or artificial rubber that is adhered and fixed to the back surface of the main body. 4. The patella brace according to claim 1, wherein the main body is made of two layers: front and back, the surface in contact with the patella is made of a non-slip material, and the other surface is made of a slippery material.