Exerciser for physical therapy

This invention refers to medical equipment and can be used for health-improving or rehabilitation exercise and for physical therapy or fitness.

Fitness exercisers are well known. For example, there is a “Training apparatus” under patent RU 33024 UI, 10. 10.2003 made of a base frame, a handrail, two rotating platforms and one rotating disk. The disk is mounted on the base frame, and the two platforms are mounted on the disk. The handrail is made with the possibility of elastic deformation or has an element made with the possibility of elastic deformation.

This apparatus permits to increase the efficacy of training various groups of muscles and to make exercise more entertaining, but it doesn\'t ensure a full scope of physical therapy. In particular, the presence of a handrail with the possibility of elastic deformation or a handrail with an element made with the possibility of elastic deformation hinders its application for recovery of lost functions, for instance, after injury and in rehabilitation of patients with poor coordination of movements.

“Apparatus for physical therapy” (USSR certificate of authorship #858821, 1981) is closer to the proposed invention. It has a frame with a base and a platform located on the base. This apparatus, according to its description, ensures rehabilitation of patients with locomotor traumas, or somatic disorders but it doesn\'t permit to exercise muscles involved in rotation of the body and the extremities.

The present invention is aimed at solving the problem of providing a convenient, manufacturable and constructively simple exerciser for physical therapy and sports, which would permit to train groups of muscles involved in rotation of the body and the extremities and would combine the potential of similar medical or fitness equipment with the ability to accelerate the recovery of lost functions, e.g. after spinal surgery, and to have a positive effect on rehabilitation of patients with osteochondrosis, spinal trauma and infantile cerebral paralysis.

Accordingly, the technical result of the invention is the technical effect objectively manifest in its manufacture and use and realized in the availability of the above mentioned characteristics.

The essence of the invention is manifested by the totality of essential characteristics, namely, the exerciser for physical therapy with a base on a frame and a platform on the base differs from the nearest analogues in that it has a least one hand support and an additional platform, the platform and the additional platform being made as feet supports and rotatably connected with the base mounted on the frame with the possibility to rotate; or with the base mounted on the frame with the possibility to rotate and be fixed, or with the base mounted on the frame with the possibility to rotate and be fixed and is connected with a device for creating and/or adjusting the operating load, the distance between the center of rotation of the movable platform and the center of rotation of the additional movable platform is 200-600 mm and the height of at least of hand support is 500-2300 mm.

The described totality of essential characteristics is sufficient for obtaining the technical result of the invention in all cases that are covered by the requested scope of legal protection.

In particular instances of its manufacture or application the exerciser might have the following options: a seat and/or additional support for the feet made as a removable rung; at least one hand support is U-, or T-, or L-shaped or arch-shaped and fixed on posts in parallel to the base; the frame, the base, the platform, and the additional platform are shaped as disks and/or ovals, and/or polygons, and/or polygons with rounded angels and curved sides; the base has auxiliary devices for feet made, for instance, as ribbed surfaces or ribbed pads; the base is connected to the frame by an axis and/or a bearing; the base is connected to the frame by an axis and/or a bearing and is mounted on the rollers; the platform and the additional platform are connected with the movable base by axes and/or bearings; the platform and the additional platform have auxiliary devices for feet made, for instance as ribbed surfaces or ribbed pads; the device for creating the operating load is made as at least one spring or a rubber link fixed with its one end on the frame and with its other end on the base, or as at least one spring fixed with its one end on the base and connected to the band brake that is located so as to be able to interact with a cylindrical support located on the frame; it might have a lock to fix the base; the distance between the centers of rotation of the platform and of the additional platform might be 420 mm, and the height of at least one hand support might be 1000 mm; at least one hand support might be provided with a mechanism for adjusting height and/or can be replaced by a support with different dimensions.

The above characteristics are related to the technical result in that the platform and the additional platform are made as feet supports and mounted on the base with the possibility to rotate, and the base that, in its turn, can be rotated and fixed with regard to the frame, and this permits to perform both simple and complex movements. These movements are possible only if the design ensures turning both the body and the extremities. This combination of rotating feet supports and the rotating base permits to exercise the multifidus muscles and spinal rotators, abdominal external and internal oblique muscles. In particular, due to the specific attachment of the multifidus muscles and the spinal rotator muscles to the 1^st and 2^nd vertebrae it becomes possible to ensure a local impact on a damaged segment or segments in scoliosis, to recover macro- and microcirculation and innervation, and to improve trophism. Training of the abdominal external and internal oblique muscles strengthens the muscles of the prelum abdominale and reduces fat deposits. It also contributes to maintenance of the ligaments of the internal organs in tonus and is effective in splanchnoptosis or dislocation of the abdominal and pelvic organs, and in their dysfunction.

For safe training, at least one hand support with the adjustable height is required in feet supports rotatably placed on the base. Anthropometric data of the user should be taken into account according to the numeric range for setting the distance between the rotation centers of the feet supports (200-600 mm) and the height of at least one hand support (500-2300 mm). These values were determined by studies that revealed the effect of the above complex movements on users of different height. In particular, it was found that even a medium effort during a twisting movement not typical for an individual, for example, if the hands are 100-150 mm lower than necessary, might cause trauma, besides, it is difficult to the user to maintain the balance in such a position of the hands. A customized distance between the rotation centers of the feet supports, the height of the support and its U shape, T shape, L shape or arch shape fixed on posts in parallel to the base make the exerciser safe and convenient and allows to keep the balance in nearly any position. The hand support of any of the above shape widens the possibilities of the exerciser and permits to perform more complex exercises.

The combination of the above mentioned numeric ranges, the rotating platform, the additional rotating movable platform, the rotating base and at least one hand support permits to considerably enhance the effectiveness of static exercises, for example, those meant to train postural muscles. In this case, the best effect is obtained due to the fact that maintenance of the body and extremities in a certain position on the movable base and movable platforms requires a considerable effort on the part of the user to keep the position.

The seat and/or the additional feet support made as a removable rung permit to perform exercises sitting or putting the extremities on different levels.

The feet supports made with additional fixing devices and the movable platform made with additional devices for the feet, for example, as ribbed surfaces or ribbed pads rule out sliding of the user\'s feet, prevent injuries and make physical exercise more comfortable.

Shaping the frame, the base and the platforms as disks and/or ovals, and/or polygons, providing their junctions with axes or bearings, and installion on rollers make the construction simple and technological.

The essence of the invention is explicated by the drawing, where

FIG. 1 shows the general view of the exerciser for physical therapy;

FIG. 2—the same exerciser with the additional feet support made as a removable rung;

FIG. 3—D view (see FIG. 1) shows the device for creating the operating load, namely, a spring connected with the base and with the frame in the initial position;

FIG. 4—D view with the device for creating the operating load after the base has been rotated;

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