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Stretching barRelated Patent Categories: Exercise Devices, IsometricStretching bar description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060089239, Stretching bar. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] The present application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/620,976, filed Oct. 21, 2004. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The invention is generally related to an apparatus for safely facilitating stretching exercises and rehabilitation. More particularly, the invention is directed to a stretching apparatus that allows stretching of a wide variety of muscle groups without undue stress. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART [0003] A physically fit person is defined by a combination of strength, endurance, and flexibility. Many individuals concentrate on strength and endurance by engaging in activities such as weight lifting and jogging, but ignore the need to be flexible. However, it is widely recognized by experts in the field that stretching prior to commencing an exercise regimen is of paramount importance to reduce the likelihood of exercise related injuries. Furthermore, lack of flexibility can lead to problems with the lower back, etc., as a person ages. [0004] Stretching is also an important part of any physical therapy regimen practiced by patients undergoing physical rehabilitation following an accident or illness, as well as patients seeking relief from common ailments such as back pain. This type of therapy is commonly supervised by a highly trained physical therapist, and may be conducted in a hospital setting or at the patient's home. Paraplegic and quadriplegic patients must also have their limbs stretched on a regular basis to avoid further medical complications. For severely impaired patients, the therapist must maneuver the patient's limbs through a full range of motion while at the same time being careful not to force or over stretch the muscles. [0005] Traditionally, pre-exercise, post-exercise, as well as therapeutic stretching exercises, are performed on the floor using a simple floor mat, or by hanging from a bar. In a typical floor stretching exercise, a person sits with his legs in a straddle position extended out in front of his torso. The person bends his torso into the mat, thereby stretching his legs and back muscles. To maximize the stretch, the person may extend his arms out over his head in a reaching fashion and the stretch is held for a short period of time. The stretching exercise may be assisted with the help of a partner or therapist. For severely impaired patients, a therapist must individually move each of the patient's limbs while the patient is on a table or on the floor. In a hanging stretch exercise, the person hangs from a bar, such as, for example, in a chin-up preparation position, and allows the weight of his or her own body to provide a downward stretch. This method is particularly undesirable in a therapeutic environment since the full body weight often provides many times more force than is necessary or desired to accomplish the stretch, thus putting strain on the muscles. Additionally, a patient in therapy often lacks the strength in their hands that is required to support their own body weight. [0006] In the design and manufacture of exercise machines, the trend has been to move away from manual or free-weight apparatuses and to provide more machines which are designed to ensure proper movement of a specific muscle group. Although this trend has been more prevalent for muscle building exercise machines, it is becoming more prevalent for stretching equipment as well. [0007] U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,090 to Reed shows an exercising machine for stretching a user's leg and back muscles, which closely simulates conventional floor exercises. A user sits with his legs extended out and locked in front of his torso. A handgrip is provided at the end of a motorized telescoping arm for the user to grasp. Forward and reverse buttons on the handgrip are used to control the direction of the telescoping arm as it pulls the user to the floor or pushes him back to a sitting position. This machine is mechanically complex and extremely limited in the types of exercises and range of motions that can be accomplished. For example, this type of machine cannot be used in a therapeutic environment where the patient has a back injury and is physically unable to bend at the torso. Additionally, since it is a user operated motorized machine, that is actually stretching the muscles, it would be easy for an inexperienced or overzealous user to go too far and cause muscle hyperextension or some other unhealthy result. [0008] U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,453 to Hestilow shows an example of a stretching machine where a user sits with his legs secured in a pair of leg decks which are longitudinally slidable to accommodate different size users. A hydraulic jack is used to move the leg decks in an arc movement to stretch the user's legs in a spread-eagled fashion. A handle bar is positioned in front of the user in the same plane as the user's legs to aid in front stretches. [0009] U.S. Pat. No. 4,445,684 to Ruff shows a leg stretch machine somewhat similar to the one that is described in Hestilow. A crank and ratchet mechanism is provided which, when turned, moves a pair of spreader arms to split a user's legs apart. A hand-grip is bolted to a central bar in front of the user near the ground. This allows the user to pull his upper body closer to the floor with his legs spread thereby simulating various martial arts positions. [0010] U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,504 to Mangini shows a stretching machine where a seat is provided with pivotally mounted leg platforms extending there from. A user sits in the seat in an upright position with his legs strapped into the leg platforms. The machine employs a steering wheel type crank which, when turned, moves the leg platforms and stretches the user's legs apart. A rod is positioned directly in front of the user. The rod has a left and right hand grip and a cable extending from the center of the rod to the seat backrest. When the user grasps and turns the rod, a ratchet mechanism winds the cable around the rod pulling the backrest forward and causing the user to assume a bent over posture. In this manner, the leg and back muscles are stretched simultaneously. [0011] The aforementioned stretch exercise machines offer significant improvement over conventional floor exercises in that they ensure proper muscle movement and, in most cases, allow for holding the muscles in a stretched position for a period of time. Unfortunately, the stretching machines only allow the user to assume a straight-out, bent over posture and do not permit side-to-side movements or vertical stretch movements, which simulate hanging. [0012] To date few advances have been made in the design of machines which facilitate stretching exercises. Typical examples are U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,801 to Davies and U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,560 to Davies. These machines are essentially leg stretching machines with an added back stretching bar. The user sits on these machines with their legs positioned outward, resting on a pair of movable leg supports. The user turns a crank to which moves the leg supports outward, away from each other in a jaw like fashion thus stretching the legs apart. The user then positions the stretching beam, captured between the two leg supports in front of him, grasps the handle that rides along the beam and stretches forward thus stretching the users' back. While primitive, this is the finest back stretcher to date. Unfortunately, the stretch machines only allow the user to assume a straight-out, bent over posture and side-to-side stretching is limited by the leg flexibility of the user. [0013] It is important that stretching be carried out with smooth continuous movements, rather than bouncy movements, in order to avoid injuries during the stretching exercise itself. Ideally, the muscles should be in a relaxed state to maximize the stretch and to avoid undue stress on the muscle, tendons, and skeleton. In addition stretching a wide variety of muscle groups will maximize the benefit to the user. Having a device designed to accomplish these objectives would be advantageous since it would encourage healthy individuals to include stretching in their fitness routine, and would aid in rehabilitation and treatment regimens as well as reduce the cost of therapy. [0014] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a stretching apparatus for stretching a wide variety of a user's muscle groups. [0015] It is an object of this invention to provide a stretching apparatus useful for rehabilitation, medical treatment and fitness. [0016] It is another object of the present invention to provide a stretching apparatus which is convenient and easy to use. [0017] It is another object of the present invention to provide a stretching apparatus which allows for a wide variety of stretches in a wide variety of directions. [0018] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a stretching apparatus which decreases the risk of injury to the user. [0019] It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a stretching apparatus which allows for smooth and continuous movements by the user. [0020] It is another object of the present invention to provide a stretching apparatus which is portable. [0021] Finally, it is an object of the present invention to accomplish the foregoing objectives in a simple and cost effective manner. Continue reading about Stretching bar... Full patent description for Stretching bar Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Stretching bar patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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