Variance wrist brace

• US 4,881,533 A
• Filed: 03/03/1988
• Issued: 11/21/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Luc Teurlings
• Original Assignee: Luc Teurlings
• Inventors: Teurlings, Luc
• Primary Examiner(s): Hafer, Robert A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Brown, Michael
• Application Number:
  US07/163,869
• Time in Patent Office: 628 Days
• Field of Search: 128/87 R, 128/77, 128/89 R, 128/87 A, 128/155, 128/156, 2/16, 2/20, 2/161 A, 273/54 B
• US Class Current: 602/21
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 5/0118 for the arms, hands or fingers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 2/91 Hand or wrist protector

Abstract

A versatile orthopedic wrist brace to support the wrist joint in excessive weight bearing activities such as gymnastics. The wrist brace includes an adjustable, removable palmar base support, that is a palmar pad 4 which elevates the wrist in a support position reducing the extension angle at the wrist joint, thus relieving pressure and pain in the wrist. This palmar pad 4 is designated specifically to compensate for imbalanced load forces which are the result of ulnar variance in support position at the wrist joint. The wrist brace is also made of a dorsal base support pad 1 including an elongated reinforcing member that consists of a rigid material and a malleable material for comfort. This dorsal reinforcing member 1 supports the wrist and the upper part of the hand in extension and might have two malleable side support members 8, 9. A wrist strap 5 extends from the dorsal base support 1, adheres to the palmar base support 4 and is wrapped around the user'"'"'s wrist to hold both base supports into place. Two straps 10, 12 extend from both top sides of the palmar base support 4 to adhere its free ends to the dorsal base support 1 on the back side of the hand. One of these straps 10 contours the thumb and the shorter strap 12 contours the little finger side of the hand.

Claims

1. A wrist supporting device for gymnasts comprising, in combination, a dorsal body of flexible sheet material positioned to contour the back of the user'"'"'s wrist and lower one third of said user'"'"'s metacarpal bones,

said dorsal body having three pockets whereof two lateral pockets are positioned on each side of said user'"'"'s wrist, each containing a pad of resilient material,

said dorsal body having a central pocket, enclosing a thick malleable support member of said resilient material, reinforced by a more rigid support member positioned on the free surface of said malleable support member and said rigid support member having a longitudinal dimension shorter on the distal end than said malleable support member,

said central pocket covering substantially the width of said user'"'"'s wrist and said lower third of said metacarpals and being elongated more towards distal margin than said lateral pockets when said dorsal body is wrapped around said user'"'"'s wrist, and means for wrapping said dorsal body around said wrist whereby a wrist strap is secured to said dorsal body, encircling said wrist, then looping through a ring attached to the beginning of said wriststrap, tightly pulled in reverse direction by said user to secure a loose end to removably adhering material on said beginning of said wriststrap, and a palmar body of said flexible sheet material which is sized and shaped to cover the front side of both said wrist and lower half of palm below proximal creaseline, thus covering said thumbside of said palm more distally than the covering of said little finger side of said palm, attachment means of said palmar body attaching said wriststrap on front of said wrist and using a long palmar strap emerging from said free edge of said thumbside wrapping around said thumb adhering to backside of said wriststrap, a short palmar strap emerging from distal end on said little finger side of said palmar body, wrapping around side of said hand adhering to backside of said wriststrap, and a palmer pad of said resilient material encased in said palmar body covering and cushioning lower portion of said palm, wherein upper edge of said palmer pad coincides with upper edge of said palmar body, and lower edge of said palmar pad extends only as far as the lower edge of said palm.

2. The device defined by claim 1 wherein said rigid support member of said resilient material such as polyethylene or copolymer, providing support to said thick malleable support member under high bending forces while allowing some elasticity of said rigid support member to provide comfort in said bending position at the wrist joint.

3. The device as defined in claim 2 wherein said thickness of said palmar pad on said radial side approximates one third inch as opposed to said ulnar side which approximates one fourth inch, resulting in a slope of said surface wherein said palmar pad is removable and adjustable to said user'"'"'s specific ulnar variance measurements.

4. The device defined by claim 1 wherein said fastening means of said dorsal body includes a combination of a napped fabric wriststrap which loops through said ring and is continuous with a hook fabric wriststrap upon which it adheres.

5. The device defined by claim 1 wherein proximal part of said palmer body is sandwiched between said wriststrap and said user'"'"'s wrist, adhered by cooperating fastening means to said wriststrap, enabling said user to remove said palmar body with said palmar pad when said palm needs full exposure.

6. The device defined by claim 1 wherein said palmar pad has increased thickness on said thumbside leveling its surface downward to said little finger side and peripherally towards the edges, as a measure to restore imbalance between ulna and radius bone length.

7. The device defined by claim 1 whereby elastic material attaches said long palmar strap to a nylon type strip of material which removably adheres to another strip of nylon material on said wriststrap securing positioning of said palmar body.

8. The device defined by claim 1 whereby said elastic material attaches said long palmar strap to a said nylon type strip of material which removably adheres to said strip of nylon material on said wriststrap curing positioning of said palmar body.