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Stretching apparatus and associated method

Stretching apparatus and associated method description/claims

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates generally to therapeutic machinery and, more particularly, to an apparatus for stretching the leg muscles of a subject.

2. Description of the Related Art

The desirability of having flexible muscles is well documented. The flexibility of a muscle typically is proportional to the strength or power of the muscle. As the relative flexibility of a person's muscles increases, the likelihood of injury to the person from day-to-day activities is correspondingly reduced. Increased muscular flexibility additionally provides for pain reduction and an increased range of motion, all of which are desirable.

A typical muscle includes layers of muscle tissue and layers of fascia tissue, with lubrication typically being provided between adjacent layers of muscle tissue and fascia tissue. As tissue ages, the tissue tends to shrink, i.e., shorten, and layers of muscle tissue can become adhered to adjacent layers of fascia tissue. That is, the lubrication between muscle tissue and adjacent fascia tissue can disappear, and the muscle tissue can, in effect, become fascia tissue. This is undesirable. Muscle tissue that has become fascia tissue cannot be stretched and cannot function as muscle tissue, and such gradual transformation of muscle tissue into fascia tissue is preferably avoided or at least slowed.

It is understood that stretching of muscles promotes flexibility by, for instance, increasing the degree of lubrication between muscle tissue and adjacent fascia tissue. Stretching also resists the transformation of muscle tissue into fascia tissue. Stretching is thus therapeutically desirable. However, many people's muscles are in a condition of being inadequately stretched, with resultant pain, loss of motion, and increased likelihood of injury. Some people do not perform any stretching exercises whatsoever. For other people, the stretching exercises performed may be inadequate or may be non-optimized, with the result that their muscles are inadequately stretched and of an undesirably low degree of flexibility. It thus would be desirable to provide an improved apparatus and method that can provide therapeutic stretching to enhance muscular flexibility and overall health of a subject.

It is also known that an excessive flare angle between the feet is undesirable. An excessive flare can cause difficulty in walking and accelerated degradation of the leg joints, particularly the hip joint, since the head of the femur often cannot sit properly in the acetabulum. Moreover, stretching of the leg muscles of a subject having an excessive foot flare often cannot be accomplished with a great degree of success since the leg muscles become misaligned with the leg joints during a stretch. That is, the muscles are not stretched over the leg joints and rather are stretched at least partially at the sides of the leg joints, with the result that the muscles cannot be adequately stretched. It thus would be desirable to provide an improved apparatus and method that can provide therapeutic stretching while at least partially overcoming the limitations resulting from an excessive foot flare.

An improved stretching apparatus includes a movable back rest and a movable foot manipulator which, when employed together, can provide therapeutic stretching to the leg muscles of a subject. For instance, the improved device can stretch the calves, hamstrings, and other leg muscles. An improved method of employing a stretching apparatus to perform a therapeutic stretching operation on the leg muscles of a subject includes engaging a subject's outstretched legs with a foot manipulator of the stretching apparatus, engaging the subject's back with a back rest of the stretching apparatus, and pivoting the foot manipulator in a stretching direction to move the feet in a dorsal direction to provide stretching of at least some of the leg muscles. The method can additionally include returning the foot manipulator to its original position, incrementally moving the back rest to take up some of the muscular looseness created by the movement of the foot manipulator in the stretching direction, and again pivoting the foot manipulator in a stretching direction to perform an additional stretching operation.

Accordingly, an aspect of the invention is to provide an improved stretching apparatus that provides therapeutic stretching to the leg muscles of a subject.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide an improved stretching apparatus for therapeutically increasing the flexibility of the leg muscles of a subject.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide an improved stretching apparatus that can correct excessive foot flare while still performing a stretching operation.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide an improved method of performing a therapeutic stretching operation on a subject.

Accordingly, an aspect of the invention is to provide an improved stretching apparatus that is structured to enable therapeutic stretching of at least some of the muscles of the upper legs and at least some of the muscles of the lower legs of a subject. The general nature of the stretching apparatus can be stated as including a frame, a chair apparatus disposed on the frame, and a foot manipulator. The chair apparatus includes a seat and a back rest. The seat is structured to receive thereon at least one of i) the subject's thighs, and ii) the subject's buttocks. The back rest is engageable with the subject's back and is movable to position the subject's back in a plurality of orientations with respect to the subject's thighs. The foot manipulator is engageable with the subject's feet when the subject's legs are substantially outstretched. The foot manipulator is movable between a first position and a second position to pivot the subject's feet in a dorsal direction about the subject's ankles. The subject's feet are in a generally relaxed position when the foot manipulator is in the first position. The subject's feet are in a dorsal position, and at least some of the muscles of the upper legs and at least some of the muscles of the lower legs are in an at least partially stretched condition when the foot manipulator is in the second position.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide an improved method of employing a stretching apparatus to perform a therapeutic stretching operation on the upper and lower leg muscles of a subject. The general nature of the method can be stated as including positioning the subject on a seat of the stretching apparatus, engaging the feet of the subject's outstretched legs with a foot manipulator of the stretching apparatus, engaging the subject's back with a back rest of the stretching apparatus, and pivoting at least a portion of the foot manipulator in a stretching direction to move the feet about the subject's ankles in a dorsal direction and to at least partially stretch at least some of the muscles of the upper legs and at least some of the muscles of the lower legs of the subject. The improved method may additionally include pivoting the at least a portion of the foot manipulator in a releasing direction substantially opposite the stretching direction, incrementally moving the back rest in a direction generally toward the at least a portion of the foot manipulator, and repeating the pivoting of the at least a portion of the foot manipulator in the stretching direction to move the feet about the subject's ankles in the dorsal direction and to at least partially stretch at least some of the muscles of the upper legs and at least some of the muscles of the lower legs of the subject.

A further understanding of the invention can be gained from the following Description of the Preferred Embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. A is a view of a foot in conjunction with various directions of motion;

FIG. B is a view of a pair of feet and depicting a flare between the feet;

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