AU2005201183B2

AU2005201183B2 - Physical Therapy Support Surface and Method of Providing Physical Therapy

Info

Publication number: AU2005201183B2
Application number: AU2005201183A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Andrew Edward Schwartz
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-03-18
Filing date: 2005-03-18
Publication date: 2007-02-01
Anticipated expiration: 2025-03-18
Also published as: AU2005201183A1

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant(s): Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: Andrew Edward SCHWARTZ Andrew Edward SCHWARTZ FRASER OLD SOHN Patent Attorneys Level 6, 118 Alfred Street MILSONS POINT NSW 2061 Physical Therapy Support Surface and Method of Providing Physical Therapy The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 5132A IND Physical Therapy Support Surface and Method of Providing Physical Therapy Field of the Invention o The invention relates to physical therapy and, in particular, to a physical IND 5 therapy support surface and method of providing physical therapy.

Cr The invention has been devised primarily for use with massage physical 00 therapy on the back and sides of pregnant women, and will be described hereinafter with reference to this application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention t 10 is not limited to this particular field of use.

Background Art It is commonly known that a relatively large number of people suffer from a wide range of back ailments. These ailments include such things as bad spinal alignment, muscular problems that may be a result of an injury, accident recovery or tension. In particular, pregnant women are often confronted with sleep deprivation as a result of orthopaedic compromise experienced during periods of lying in bed or resting. This is particularly the case during the latter part of human gestation, from about 18 to 22 weeks onward, where the normal physiology enabling abdominal and muscular support for the body's physical movement (including rotational movement) during sleep is challenged. Both the expansion of the uterus and weight gain, cogniscent with a healthy growing baby, results in the effort required by the mother to achieve a position of comfort during rest where the mother is often not supported.

These ailments and orthopaedic difficulty experienced by pregnant women can require a wide range of treatments such as those by chiropractors, physiotherapists or massage therapists. Sometimes, a simple back rub can be sufficient to help a person alleviate back pain or just feel better when no specific problems exist.

To receive physical therapy on the back, a patient normally lies face down on a substantially flat padded table surface, or the like. Typically, the table surface extends a length sufficient to support a person from their shoulders to at least midway down their thighs. A head piece often is disposed at one end of the surface and a leg 5132A IDpiece is disposed the other end. The head piece and leg piece are movable toward or away from the table surface to accommodate people of different heights. A Sphysiotherapist, chiropractor or massage therapist is known to work on the back of a O patient for periods ranging from 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes or more.

IND Unfortunately, many people are unable to lie on their front on a table surface Cc for the periods of time normally required to allow such physical therapy. This is oO 0particularly, but not exclusively, the case for women who are pregnant (particularly from about 12 weeks onwards). Pregnant women typically experience discomfort S 10 when forced to lie on their stomachs for periods of 30 minutes or more. Therefore, for people such as pregnant women, any normal physical therapy on their back cannot be performed due to abdominal, pelvic or intrauterine pressure, for example.

Additionally, there is a need for abdominal support for post operative patients recovering from abdominal surgery.

US Patent No. 6,560,800 (DRAVES) discloses a lumber reinforcement device having two cushions of eliptical shape in transverse cross-section which are arranged in parallel fashion with the spacing between the cushions being adjustable. The length of the cushions extends only from the shoulder to hip of an adult user. Thus the thighs and knees of the user are entirely unsupported.

International Patent Application No. WO 98/07354 (SELTON) discloses a bedding pad having a width substantially the same as the underlying mattress and two cushions of bell curve shape in transverse cross-section which are arranged in parallel fashion with wide spacing between the cushions. See in particular Figs. 6-8 and the description of Fig. 1 which make it clear that the cushions "provide symmetrically disposed supports on either side of the user for support on either side while sleeping", but do not simultaneously support both front and back of the sleeper.

Object of the Invention It is an object of the present invention to provide a physical therapy support surface and a method of providing physical therapy that will substantially overcome 5132A IND or at least ameliorate one or more of the above difficulties experienced by pregnant women.

O Summary of the Invention ,O 5 According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a physical therapy support surface for supporting a person to allow physical therapy on their back, the Cc support surface including: oO 0a pliant planar base adapted to lie flat on a level supporting surface, said base having first and second sides and extending between a head end and a tail end; and 'r 10 a first support cushion disposed along the first side of the base, Sa second support cushion disposed along the second side of the base, said first and second support cushions being spaced apart and extending substantially the length of the first and second sides respectively and corresponding to at least the shoulder to knee dimension of said person, and said first and second support cushions being substantially semi-circular in transverse cross-section and the longitudinal axes of the support cushions being substantially parallel whereby said person lying on their side with one, upper, knee engaged with one said cushion has their back engaged with the other said cushion and is thereby braced against rotation about an axis substantially co-incident with the person's spine.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method of providing physical therapy to the back of a person, the method including the steps of: providing the abovementioned support surface; laying a person on one of their sides on the base; positioning the person's other, opposite side leg on the first support cushion; positioning the person's opposite arm to the laying side on the first support cushion; conforming the first support cushion to the shape of the front of the person adjacent thereto; engaging the second support cushion to the back of the person and conforming the shape of said second support cushion to said back and providing physical therapy to the uppermost portions of the back and opposite side of the person.

5132A IND Brief Description of the Drawings A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of Sexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: O FIG. 1 is an end elevation of a physical therapy support surface according to IN 5 the preferred embodiment; FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the support surface of FIG. 1; SFIG. 3 is a plan view of the support surface of FIG. 1; 00 FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the support surface of FIG. 1; and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the support surface of FIG. 1 with a pregnant S 10 woman lying thereon.

Detailed Description Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, there is shown a physical therapy support surface 1.

It is noted that like reference numerals denote like parts in the drawings. The physical therapy support surface is for supporting a pregnant woman to allow physical therapy to be performed on her back.

The therapy support surface 1 includes a substantially planar base 2. The base has first and second spaced apart sides 3 and 4. The sides 3 and 4 extend between a base head end 5 and a base tail end 6.

The base is preferably formed from a pliant sheet material such as vinyl or PVC coated textile fabric. However, any similar material may be used. A pillow 9 is preferably positioned at the base head end The physical therapy support surface includes a first support cushion 7 disposed along the first side 3. A second support cushion 8 is similarly disposed along the second side 4. The distance between the first and second support cushions 7 and 8 is less than the length of the pillow 9. The first and second support cushions 7 and 8 extend over the entire length of the sides 3 and 4 corresponding to at least the knee to shoulder distance of an adult.

5132A INO The first and second support cushions 7 and 8 extend upwardly to substantially the same predetermined height above the base. In other embodiments (not illustrated) the heights can be different. The first and second support cushions 7 and 8 are

C.)

N substantially semi-circular in transverse cross-section.

The support cushions 7 and 8 are at least partially filled with polystyrene foam Cr balls or beads, or other like material such as buck wheat or other cereal grains. The 00 0cushions 7 and 8 are not completely filled. This will allow each cushion 7, 8 to conform to the shape of the person lying adjacent thereto and thereby provide support.

S 10 It will be appreciated that the cushions 7 and 8 can be made of a solid or semi-solid material, filled with a fluid or be filled with other materials that allow the cushions to conform to the shape of a person lying adjacent thereto. The outer surface of the cushions 7 and 8 can be covers formed from any preferred material such as cloth, leather or vinyl, for example.

In use, the physical therapy support surface 1 is laid over a table or other stable support such as a bed, bench or the like. Although not illustrated, the physical therapy support surface 1 can, if desired, have straps mounted on, or adjacent, an edge of the base 2 to allow the support surface 1 to be (removably) secured to the table.

It is noted that any suitable arrangement can be employed to securely mount the support surface 1 to a table. Alternatively, if no mounting arrangement is provided the base can be made from, or coated with, a friction imparting material to grip the table.

As best shown in FIG. 5, a pregnant woman is laid on her right side on the base 2 of the support surface 1. The left leg of the woman is laid on the first support cushion 7. The woman's left arm is also laid on the first support cushion 7. Thus the woman effectively "cuddles" the first cushion 7 and in this way the first support cushion 7 is conformed to the shape of the front of the person facing it. This front includes the extended "belly" of the pregnant woman.

5132A IND Also downward pressure is simultaneously applied to the top of the second Scushion 8 to conform it to the shape of the woman's back. In this position, both the front and back of the woman are simultaneously supported by the cushions 7 and 8 O respectively. As a consequence, the woman cannot inadvertently roll forwardly or NO 5 rearwardly since either motion is impeded by the cushions 7 and 8. That is, the woman is braced against rotation about an axis substantially co-incident with the cc woman's spine. Furthermore, the woman's spinal segments are substantially levelled 00 0and aligned thereby reducing orthopaedic stress.

V 10 Thus relatively immobilized, the woman's left arm, left leg and left hand portions of the back can be massaged. The right arm, right leg and right hand portions of the back are substantially inaccessible. In this way, the second support cushion 8 supports/cradles the woman's back and minimises pressure and tension applied to the woman's back. The right leg is preferably supported to the knee and in the preferred form just below the knee as seen in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

Once physical therapy on the left side of the woman's back is completed, the woman simply moves herself to roll over, or is rolled over by the therapist, so that the right leg and right arm are now laid on the second support cushion 8 and physical therapy can be performed on the other (right) side of the woman's back whilst the woman lies on her left side.

The preferred dimensions are length from head to tail 38 inches (97cm), width from side to side 25 inches (63cm), diameter of each cushion (7, 92 inches (24cm), and distance between interior edges of the cushions 6 inches Thus, there is provided a physical therapy support surface 1 that minimises any discomfort by supporting the front of the person and their arms and legs on the opposite side to that on which they are lying.

5132A \O The foregoing describes only one embodiment of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the physical therapy arts, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

O

0 IN 5 The term "comprising" (and its grammatical variations) as used herein is used in the inclusive sense of "having" or "including" and not in the exclusive sense of C "consisting only of'.

00 In tt

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Claims

1. A physical therapy support surface for supporting a person to allow physical therapy on their back, the support surface including: O a pliant planar base adapted to lie flat on a level supporting surface, said base IND having first and second sides and extending between a head end and a tail end; and a first support cushion disposed along the first side of the base, a second support cushion disposed along the second side of the base, said first OO 0and second support cushions being spaced apart and extending substantially the length Oof the first and second sides respectively and corresponding to at least the shoulder to t knee dimension of said person, and said first and second support cushions being O Osubstantially semi-circular in transverse cross-section and the longitudinal axes of the support cushions being substantially parallel whereby said person lying on their side with one, upper, knee engaged with one said cushion has their back engaged with the other said cushion and is thereby braced against rotation about an axis substantially co-incident with the person's spine.

2. A physical therapy support surface according to claim 1 wherein the first and second support cushions are adapted to conform to the shape of the person when a force is applied thereby.

3. A physical therapy support surface according to claim 2 wherein the first and second support cushions are filled with small objects selected from the class consisting of foam balls, foam beads, and grains of cereal.

4. A physical therapy support surface according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the base is formed from a fabric material.

A physical therapy support surface according to any one of the preceding claims including a headrest positioned at the head end of the base, the headrest extending upwardly a predetermined distance from the base.

6. A physical therapy support surface according to any one of the preceding claims including one or more surface mounting straps attached to the base.

7. A method of providing physical therapy to the back of a person, the method including the steps of: providing a support surface as defined in any one of claims 1-6; laying a person on one of their sides on the base; positioning the person's other, opposite side leg on the first support cushion; -9- 5132A IND positioning the person's opposite arm to the laying side on the first support cushion; Sconforming the first support cushion to the shape of the front of the person O adjacent thereto; engaging the second support cushion to the back of the person and IN conforming the shape of said second support cushion to said back and providing physical therapy to the uppermost portions of the back and opposite c side of the person. 00

8. A method according to claim 7 including the step of rolling the person over on Sthe base on to their other side and providing physical therapy to the now uppermost Sportions of the back and other side of the person.

9. A physical therapy support surface being substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. A method of providing physical therapy to the back of a person, the method being substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 16 th day of October 2006 Andrew Edward SCHWARTZ By FRASER OLD SOHN Patent Attorneys for the Applicant