Orthopedic belt

• US 5,651,763 A
• Filed: 05/11/1995
• Issued: 07/29/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Back-A-Line, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Back-A-Line, Inc.
• Inventors: Gates, Yoko C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown, Michael A.
• Application Number:
  US08/439,581
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• Field of Search: 128/869, 128/876, 602/19, 2/309, 2/311, 2/321, 2/337, 2/338, 273/117, 273/119, 273/143
• US Class Current: 602/19
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 5/028 Braces for providing support to the lower back, e.g. lumbo sacral supports

Abstract

A lumbosacral support system comprising a belt and an orthopedic pad carried by the belt. The pad has a contoured template surface with a transversely extending central trough portion for accommodating the protruding spinal processes of the wearer when the pad is pressed against the lumbar region, and a pair of raised plateau regions flanking the central trough portion for contacting the erector spinae muscles of the wearer to provide support. The template surface of the pad has a vertical surface contour through the central region approximating the average lordotic curve of a wearer. The belt is longitudinally tapered so the pad is arranged at an angle to vertical to optimally engage the lumbar region of the wearer.

Claims

1. For use with a lumbosacral support system, a unitary orthopedic pad having an upper margin and a lower margin, said pad having a smoothly contoured template surface bounded by said margins with a central trough portion extending between said upper and lower margins for accommodating the spinal processes of a wearer when the pad is pressed against the lumbar region, and a pair of raised plateau regions flanking said central trough portion for contacting the erector spinae muscles of the wearer to provide support therefor, the template surface of said pad having a smoothly curving, physiologically nonconforming surface contour through the central region thereof approximating the lordotic curve of a wearer, to assist maintaining proper spinal posture.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said pad is fabricated from a compressed foam material.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said pad is fabricated from ethylene vinyl acetate.

4. An orthopedic pad, for use with a lumbosacral support system, comprising:

a body having upper and lower edges;

the body having a template surface, adapted to press against the lumbosacral region of the user, having a vertically oriented central trough region and a pair of raised plateau regions flanking the central trough region for contacting the erector spinae muscles of the user; and

the raised plateau regions of the template surface having a smoothly curving, physiologically nonconforming surface contour approximating the lordotic curve of the user so to assist maintaining proper spinal posture.

5. The pad of claim 4 wherein the body is a one-piece stiff foam body.

6. An orthopedic pad, for use with a lumbosacral support system, comprising:

a one-piece stiff foam body having upper and lower edges;

the body having a template surface, adapted to press against the lumbosacral region of the user, having a vertically oriented central trough region and a pair of raised plateau regions flanking the central trough region for contracting the erector spinae muscles of the user; and

the raised plateau regions of the template surface having a smoothly curving, physiologically nonconforming surface contour approximating the lordotic curve of the user so to assist maintaining proper spinal posture, the raised plateau regions of the template surface having a hardness of about 35°

to about 41°

.

7. For use with a lumbosacral support system, a unitary orthopedic pad having an upper margin and a lower margin, said pad having a smoothly contoured template surface bounded by said margins with a central trough portion extending between said upper and lower margins for accommodating the spinal processes of a wearer when the pad is pressed against the lumbar region, and a pair of raised plateau regions flanking said central trough portion for contacting the erector spinae muscles of the wearer to provide support therefor, the template surface of said pad having a smoothly curving, physiologically nonconforming surface contour through the central region thereof approximating the lordotic curve of a wearer, to assist maintaining proper spinal posture, wherein said template surface has a hardness of between about 35 and about 41 degrees.

8. For use with a lumbosacral support system, a unitary orthopedic pad having an upper margin and a lower margin, said pad having a smoothly contoured template surface bounded by said margins with a central trough portion extending between said upper and lower margins for accommodating the spinal processes of a wearer when the pad is pressed against the lumbar region, and a pair of raised plateau regions flanking said central trough portion for contacting the erector spinae muscles of the wearer to provide support therefor, the template surface of said pad having a smoothly curving, physiologically nonconforming surface contour through the central region thereof approximating the lordotic curve of a wearer, to assist maintaining proper spinal posture, wherein said pad has a maximum width in the area of the central trough portion of substantially nine inches and top and said bottom edges have a convex curvature.

9. The invention of claim 8 wherein said pad has a thickness in the raised plateau regions of approximately one and one eighth inches.

10. the invention of claim 8 wherein the maximum thickness of said pad in the central trough portion is approximately three-quarter inch.

11. An orthopedic pad, for use with a lumbosacral support system, comprising:

a body having upper and lower edges;

the body having a template surface, adapted to press against the lumbosacral region of the user, having a vertically oriented central trough region and a pair of raised plateau regions flanking the central trough region for contacting the erector spinae muscles of the user; and

the raised plateau regions of the template surface have a smoothly curving, physiologically nonconforming surface contour approximating the lordotic curve of the user os to assist maintaining proper spinal posture, the raised plateau regions of the template surface being of a stiff foam material having a hardness of about 35 to 41 degrees.