Patent ID: 6371894
Filing Date: 2002-04-16
Classification: A63B

Abstract:
A medical device for physical therapy treatment to enable patients confined to a bed to increase upper and lower extremity strength and promote a quicker return to standing and walking activities, said device comprising:a generally wedge shaped resiliently compressible article compactly sized for use in a bed by a patient to perform physical therapy exercises; said article having an expansive front support base, a generally flat bottom surface, an expansive rear support base, a sloping top surface, a left side, and a right side; said expansive front support base extending perpendicular from said bottom surface and sized to provide a stable pushing surface for a patient's feet; said expansive rear support base extending perpendicular from said bottom surface and taller than said expansive front support base and sized to provide a stable surface against an abutment when said expansive front surface is compressed toward said rear surface to perform a therapeutic exercise; said top surface sloping upward from said expansive front support base to said expansive rear support base and having an angle of inclination designed to provide a proper range of motion for said patient's legs when performing a therapeutic exercise using said article; wherein said resiliently compressible article is formed in a plurality of layers of increasing stiffness; each subsequent layer of said plurality of layers requiring more strength to compress than a preceding layer when force is applied to said article by a patient performing a therapeutic exercise; said increasing stiffness allowing said article to continue to be effectively utilized as a patient becomes stronger; and said increasing stiffness further allowing said article to be effectively utilized by patients of varying strength.