KR101083296B1 - Ankle brace including tension indicator - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, the ankle brace is a fixing member which is fixed to surround the wearer's foot; A strap connected to the fixing member and fixed to surround the foot and assisting the wearer's ankle ligament movement by an applied tension; And a tension indicator indicating a tension applied to the strap. The strap is mounted inside the fixing member and moves along the fixing member by the tension, and the tension indicator is displayed on the strap so that the mark is exposed to the outside through a monitoring window formed on the fixing member when the strap is moved. Can be.

Straps, tension indicators, fasteners, ankle braces, ligaments

Description

Ankle brace with tension indicator {ANKLE BRACE INCLUDING TENSION INDICATOR}

The present invention relates to an ankle brace, and more particularly to an ankle brace having a tension indicator indicating the amount of tension applied to the strap.

The foot is a body part with complex motor function and structure, and it is composed of joints that are often used for movement such as walking or running. These feet support your weight and are easily exposed to disorders such as sprains or fractures, as you will be impacted twice or five times your weight when you walk, land, or swivel after uneven surfaces. have.

1 is a view schematically showing the anatomy of the bones and ligaments constituting the foot. Ankle sprains are damages that occur very frequently during sporting activities or in everyday life.Anterior talofibular ligaments (ATF ligaments) and calorific ligaments (CF ligaments) due to inversion or supination of the ankles. ) Anterior talofibular tigament (PTF ligament) is more than 85% of the ankle lateral ligament complex, and the ankle medial ligament injury occurs in the Eversion and Pronation of the ankle.

Therefore, ankle braces are worn to prevent ankle sprains from occurring, or ankle braces are worn to prevent secondary damage of ankle ligaments when ankle sprains occur. Ankle braces (or ankles) assist the movement of the ankle ligaments using a tensioned strap, thereby preventing damage to the ankle ligaments. However, it is common to use taping therapy or elastic fibers or rigid structures to limit the range of motion (ROM) of the ankle. When securing the ankle fixing force using the taping or the strap, the doctor or physiotherapist should be applied to adjust the direction or tension. However, if the people arbitrarily adjust the direction and tension of the taping or straps, the prevention of ankle sprain can be reduced or rather damage of other tissues.

An object of the present invention is to provide an ankle brace that can prevent damage to the ankle ligament.

Another object of the present invention to provide an ankle brace that can display the tension applied to the strap.

Still other objects of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

According to the present invention, the ankle brace is a fixing member which is fixed to surround the wearer's foot; A strap connected to the fixing member and fixed to surround the foot and assisting the wearer's ankle ligament movement by an applied tension; And a tension indicator indicating a tension applied to the strap.

The strap is mounted inside the fixing member and moves along the fixing member by the tension, and the tension indicator is displayed on the strap so that the mark is exposed to the outside through a monitoring window formed on the fixing member when the strap is moved. Can be.

The marker may be a gradation. In addition, the marker may be a level marker indicating the magnitude of the tension in stages.

The strap has a binding means provided at one end of the strap and fixed to the fixing member to fix the position of the strap, and the magnitude of the tension applied to the strap can be adjusted according to the position at which the binding means is bound. have.

The strap may have a first strap disposed parallel to the anterior talofibular ligament (ATF ligament) and the posterior talofibular ligament (PTF ligament).

The strap may include a second strap disposed parallel to the anterior tibiofibular ligament and anterior ligament (Calcaneofibular ligament: CF ligament).

According to the present invention, damage to the ankle portion can be prevented. In particular, it is possible to grasp the tension applied to the strap and prevent excessive tension from being applied to the strap.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4C. The embodiments of the present invention can be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described below. The embodiments are provided to explain the present invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Accordingly, the shape of each element shown in the drawings may be exaggerated to emphasize a more clear description.

On the other hand, the following describes the present invention using a name for the body part, but since the body part has a feature that is difficult to clearly distinguish the boundary, the name used below does not limit the scope of the present invention, It may be interpreted differently according to the intention of the present invention.

2 is a view schematically showing an ankle brace according to the present invention, Figure 3 is a view showing a cross section of the fixing member and the strap shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the ankle brace includes a fixing member 10, a strap 20, and a tension indicator 30.

As shown in Figure 2, the fixing member 10 may be wrapped from the foot to the ankle like a sock, it may be in close contact with the foot using an elastic force. On the other hand, the fixing member shown in Figure 2 is only one example, unlike the present embodiment, the fixing member 10 may be a shape in which the front side of the fixing member 10 corresponding to the toe portion is cut out so that the toes are exposed. In addition, portions other than the toe portion may be cut to form a wearer's fit.

The strap 20 is made of an elastic material, one end of the strap 20 is fixed to the fixing member 10, the strap 20 is provided with a mounting space 13 provided to the fixing member 10 by the tension applied by the wearer Move along. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the mounting space 13 is formed between the outer fabric 10a and the lining 10b through the stitching C in a state of covering the outer fabric 10a and the lining 10b. The strap 20 can move along the mounting space 13 by tension.

On the other hand, the mounting space 13 shown in FIG. 3 is only one example for limiting the position of the strap 20, it is possible to provide the mounting space 13 in another form on the fixing member 10, In particular, it is possible to limit the position of the strap 20 by installing a ring on the fixing member 10 without a separate mounting space (13). In this case, the strap 20 can move on the ring by tension.

Ankle sprains, on the other hand, are an injury to the ankles that are caused by trauma during footfalls and during exercise, especially on the edges of roadside walkways, stones, stairways, stairways, holes, and uneven ground, especially basketball, tennis, and running. It is one of the most common sports injuries, accounting for about 10-30% of all trauma related to all movements.

In particular, ligament injuries caused by ankle sprains are more likely to recur once damaged areas, and more than 40% progress to chronic ankle instability (CAI) and suffer from reflex sympathetic atrophy (RSD, CRPS). When you are injured, you should be cautious about the initial treatment, but most importantly, prevent sprains.

Such ankle sprains can be caused by inversion damage, ie, the ankle is twisted inward, and if the ankle loses its inward balance, the strength of his weight continues and the extent of his ankle becomes more severe. At this time, the fibula muscles try to resist the next time, but if the imbalance of force is stronger and faster than this by trauma, the ligaments can not bear the tension.

If the stress on the ligaments persists, some of the areas attached to the bone will stretch or rupture. At this time, the anterior talofibular ligament is the weakest and tends to be frequently damaged and loss of function is good. It is 2.5 times stronger than intact, and when severely damaged, it may damage the calcaneofibular ligament.

The strap 20 limits the motion (eversion or inversion) of the ankle ligament by the tension applied by the wearer, protects the ankle ligament, and as shown in FIG. 2, the strap 20 is An instep strap 22, first and second straps 24 and 26, and fastening means 28. An instep strap 22 is arranged to surround the instep and the sole.

The first strap 24 is located on the outside of the foot and is disposed side by side with the anterior girdle ligament (or posterior girdle ligament) described above to protect the anterior girdle ligament (or posterior girdle ligament). The second strap 26 is disposed side by side with the anterior tibiofibular ligament and the calf of ligament (CFL) to protect the anterior tibial and ligament.

The binding means 28 is provided at the other end of the strap 20 and attached to the binding means 14 installed on the fixing member 10 to limit the movement of the strap 20.

On the other hand, the monitoring window 12 is provided on the fixing member 10, the monitoring window 12 may be an opening or a transparent material. Since the monitoring window 12 is provided on the mounting space 13, the strap 20 moving along the mounting space 13 may be visually confirmed through the monitoring window 12. Meanwhile, the tension indicator 30 is provided on the strap 20, and the tension indicator 30 moves together as the strap 20 moves. Similarly, the movement of the tension indicator 30 can be visually confirmed through the monitoring window 12.

Hereinafter, the operation of the ankle brace will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4C.

First, as described above, one end of the strap 20 is fixed on the fixing member 10 (for example, the bottom of the fixing member 10), and by applying tension to the strap 20 (or strapping). As the other end of the 20 is pulled out, the strap 20 moves along the mounting space 13 (moves in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 4A). When tension is applied to the strap 20, the strap 20 compresses the foot (including the ankle), and the elastic force (or restoring force) of the strap 20 acts in parallel with the ankle ligament described above to assist the ankle ligament ( Or protect). The wearer can prevent the restoration of the strap 20 by binding the binding means 28 provided at the other end of the strap 20 to the binding means 14 provided at the fixing member 10.

On the other hand, the wearer may vary the tension (or force to press the foot) of the desired strap 20, depending on the degree of injury or physical characteristics of the ankle ligament or use. In this case, the tension indicator 30 qualitatively represents the magnitude of the tension applied to the strap 20.

As shown in FIG. 2, when no tension is applied to the strap 20, the tip of the tension indicator 30 is positioned at a reference position (indicated by an arrow) located at one side of the monitoring window 12. As described above, when tension is applied to the strap 20, the tension indicator 30 moves along the mounting space 13 together with the strap 20, as shown in FIG. 4A, the tension indicator 30. The movement of can be checked with the naked eye through the monitoring window (12).

As shown in FIG. 4A, the tension indicator 30 may be a gradation displayed on the strap 20, and the wearer is applied to the strap 20 as the color of the gradation indicated by the reference position (or arrow) is darker. It can be seen that the tension is increased by a certain amount.

In this embodiment, the monitoring window 12 is described as being fixed, but the position of the monitoring window 12 may be changed along the length direction of the strap 20, and the position of the reference position (or arrow) may be changed. This is because the position of the reference position (or arrow) corresponding to the zero point should be changed according to the physical characteristics of the wearer.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the tension indicator 30 may be a level marker indicating the magnitude of the tension in stages. Accordingly, the wearer can quantify the magnitude of the tension applied to the strap 20 through the number of level markers indicated by the reference position (or arrow).

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4C, the tension indicator 30 may be a numerical value representing the magnitude of the tension. Therefore, the wearer may check the value indicated by the reference position (or arrow) to confirm the magnitude of the tension applied to the strap 20. The value of the tension indicator 30 may be changed to the actual amount of tension through a quantification process for measuring the amount of tension applied to the strap 20.

Although the present invention has been described in detail by way of preferred embodiments thereof, other forms of embodiment are possible. Therefore, the technical idea and scope of the claims set forth below are not limited to the preferred embodiments.

1 is a view schematically showing the anatomy of the bones and ligaments constituting the foot.

2 is a view schematically showing an ankle brace according to the present invention.

3 is a cross-sectional view of the fixing member and the strap shown in FIG.

4A is a view showing the operation of the tension indicator shown in FIG.

4B and 4C are views showing a modification of the tension indicator shown in FIG. 4A.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

10: fixing member 12: monitoring window

14: binding means 22: instep strap

24: first strap 26: second strap

28: binding means 30: tension indicator

Claims (7)

delete A fixing member fixed to surround the wearer's foot; A strap connected to the fixing member and fixed to surround the foot and assisting the wearer's ankle ligament movement by an applied tension; And A tension indicator indicating a tension applied to the strap, The strap is mounted inside the fixing member to move along the fixing member by the tension, The tension indicator is an ankle brace, characterized in that the mark is displayed on the strap is exposed to the outside through the monitoring window formed on the fixing member when the strap is moved. The method of claim 2, The ankle brace, characterized in that the marking (gradation). The method of claim 2, The marker is an ankle brace, characterized in that the level marker indicating the magnitude of the tension step by step. The method of claim 2, The strap is provided at one end of the strap and has a binding means for binding to the fixing member to fix the position of the strap, Ankle orthosis, characterized in that the amount of tension applied to the strap is adjusted according to the position where the binding means is bound. The method of claim 2, The strap is an ankle brace characterized in that it has a first strap disposed in parallel with the anterior talofibular ligament (ATF ligament). The method of claim 6, The strap is an ankle brace characterized in that it has a second strap disposed parallel to the anterior tibiofibular ligament and anterior ligament (Calcaneofibular ligament: CFL).

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