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Horizontal lumbar stretching machine and method

Horizontal lumbar stretching machine and method description/claims

This application is based upon provisional application 60/880,163, filed on Jan. 12, 2007, the priority of which is claimed.

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a device or machine for stretching and exercising the human body. Specifically, the invention relates to a user-controlled device or machine for stretching and exercising the torso section of the user's body while lying in a horizontal supine position.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Prior art devices for stretching the human frame have included numerous medical and non-medical mechanical devices. These mechanical devices include both motorized and non-motorized movement, and employ weight stacks, plyometric resistance and/or gravity to accomplish the goal of stretching, flexing, or unloading the human frame. Purely medical devices have included over-the-door and power-controlled traction devices, among others, arranged and designed to decompress the spine. Non-medical devices have typically included gym-type stretching equipment including, but not limited to, gravity balls and Pilates machines, arranged and designed to improve flexibility and range of joint motion. However, Pilates equipment, MedX exercise equipment, and other fitness-oriented exercise and stretching units are uncomfortable, cumbersome, and/or difficult to operate. Furthermore, fitness-oriented exercise and stretching units are not necessarily directed at conditioning and unloading the user's spine and trunk section.

Among the more common types of prior art devices for stretching the human frame are “inversion” devices which operate by inverting the human body. These inversion devices suspend the user in an upside down position by the ankles or knees so that the spine and associated structures that produce vertical pressure while upright can be unloaded and stretched. The principle behind these inversion devices is that, by turning the human frame upside down, gravity acting on the human frame in the reverse direction will assist in relaxing the spine and associated structures, thereby giving the user a sense of relaxation and well being. However, a major drawback of these inversion devices and their method of operation is that the user's cardiovascular system must operate in an abnormal state thus potentially causing the user to feel ill effects from the inversion.

3. Identification of Objects of the Invention

An object of the invention is the accomplish one or more of the following:

Provide a machine which horizontally stretches the human frame by slightly pulling the user's lower body away from the user's upper body while the user is supported in a horizontal position;

Provide a machine which horizontally stretches the human frame by slightly pulling the user's midsection/pelvis away from the user's upper body while the user is supported in a horizontal position; and

Provide a machine which permits the user to precisely control the degree of horizontal stretching which occurs by controlling the degree to which the user's lower body or midsection/pelvis is pulled away from the user's upper body.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the following specifications and drawings.

An exercise machine and method are disclosed for horizontally stretching and exercising the human body. The machine has a bed, table, or platform upon which the user lies and becomes physically attached thereto while using and operating the machine. The table is composed of three main sections: (1) an upper stationary section upon which a user's upper body is physically attached, (2) an actuated or moveable lower section which receives the user's lower body, and (3) a slack section, including an upright projection, disposed at the end of the lower section of the table. The user's upper body is restrained to the upper stationary section of the table using a jacket vest or similar apparatus with an attachment mechanism. In addition to the jacket vest, the user also wears a harness or similar restraining device around the pelvis or midsection which is capable of restraining the human frame without slippage. The machine has a user-controlled actuator which preferably moves the lower and slack sections of the table longitudinally inward and outward. The slack section of the machine has an upright projection with several hooks, eyelets, or similar devices for receiving and attaching a strap or similar device thereto. A strap or a similar device is attached between the upright projection of the slack section and the pelvic harness worn by the user while lying atop the machine.

The user uses the exercise machine by fastening the harness or similar restraining device about her pelvis or midsection and attaching the strap between the harness and one of the hooks disposed on the slack section upright projection. The user then lies on the table in a supine position using the jacket vest or similar apparatus to physically attach the upper body to the upper stationary section of the table. The user controls the self-actuator to move the lower and slack sections of the table longitudinally outward. In this way, any slack in the strap between the user's pelvis and the upright projection is removed. The user continues to self-actuate movement of the lower and slack sections of the table away from (or towards) the upper body; thereby causing the strap to pull upon (or loosen from) the user's trunk or midsection. Because the user's upper body is physically attached to the upper stationary section of the table, the user's trunk is effectively stretched and exercised by outward movement of the strap. The user fully controls the amount and duration of horizontal stretching by regulating the amount of outward (or inward) longitudinal movement of the strap (i.e., the lower and slack sections of the table). Therefore, the machine is much easier and safer to operate and more effective in horizontally stretching and exercising the human frame than other exercise and physical strengthening devices.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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