Injury protection device for athletes

A device which is designed for use by athletes to protect against and prevent injury to the knees, lower extremities, ankles and feet, without restricting mobility or efficiency. The apparatus includes a dynamic system of components which are worn by the athlete during the athletic event and, in a preferred embodiment, includes elastic, corset-like tights or leggings which have secured thereto at least one pair of cable assemblies, one for each leg, which extend from the hip area to the foot area. Each cable assembly includes a flexible, non-elastic cable which is wrapped about the leg at least one full turn between the hip and the foot. Means are provided for securing the lower end of the cable to the athletic shoe of the wearer, and means are also provided for tensioning the cable to any desired degree. The tensioned cable assemblies protect the limb complex unit from angular and torsional stresses incurred during the athletic event.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention is related to injury preventing devices and, more 
particularly, is directed towards a device for preventing leg injuries to 
athletes during the playing of an athletic contest. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Very few injury preventing devices are worn by athletes during the playing 
of an athletic contest. During a particularly rugged contest, such as 
football, the legs of the athlete are subjected to severe angular and 
torsional stresses which can and have caused injuries to the knee, lower 
leg, ankle and foot. 
The most common types of athletic braces in use today are not prophylactic 
in nature. That is, such braces, as the common elastic knee brace, are 
utilized primarily after a knee injury has occurred in order to provide 
additional support and thereby minimize strain on the knee. Clearly, if a 
device or apparatus could be provided which can be worn by an athlete 
during the playing of the athletic contest which would tend to prevent 
such injuries, and which would not interfere with the athlete's mobility 
of playing efficiency, it would be most welcomed, especially on the 
football field where an alarming increase in athletic injuries have been 
experienced. 
I am aware of the following prior art U.S. patents which may be related to 
this general area: Nos. 1,308,675; 1,548,711; 2,871,852; 3,295,517; and 
3,900,898. Most of the devices described in these patents are rigid, 
static devices, and would be ill-adapted for the uses contemplated by the 
present invention. 
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a 
device for use by athletes which acts to prevent the occurrence of 
injuries to the knees, lower extremities, ankles and feet, without 
restricting mobility or efficiency. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide an injury prevention 
device for athletes which is worn during the athletic event, without 
impairing performance of the athlete, but which protects the limb complex 
unit from angular and torsional stresses that frequently result in 
crippling or disabling injuries. 
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a dynamic 
injury prevention device particularly for use by athletes during an 
athletic contest which, while reducing the occurrence of injuries, 
nevertheless permits the user to run, pivot, twist, stop quickly, bend, or 
the like, without difficulty. 
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a dynamic 
apparatus which is designed to become part of standard athletic equipment 
to thereby provide a prophylactic injury preventing effect, to thereby 
greatly reduce athletic related injuries. 
The foregoing and other objects are attained in accordance with one aspect 
of the present invention through the provision of apparatus for use in 
preventing athletic injury, which comprises cable means adapted to extend 
between the hip area and foot area of a user by being wrapped at least one 
full turn about the leg between the hip and foot. Means are further 
provided for securing the cable means at its first end in the hip area and 
at its second end in the foot area. Means may also be provided for 
adjusting the tension of the cable means, and leggings means may be worn 
by the user for supporting the cable means. The leggings means preferably 
comprises an elastic material, while the cable means may consist of a 
flexible, non-elastic cable such as steel. 
In accordance with other aspects of the present invention, guide means are 
preferably attached to the leggings means for housing the cable means 
therein. The means for securing the cable at the second end may preferably 
comprise an L-shaped brace adapted to be placed under the foot of the 
user. The brace has means for adjusting the tension in the cable means 
formed on a vertical flange thereof. The second end of the cable means 
preferably includes a threaded portion while the tension adjusting means 
includes a guidepost through which the cable extends and a nut positioned 
about the threaded portion adjacent the post for adjusting the length of 
the cable. 
In accordance with yet other aspects of the present invention, means are 
attached to the leggings means at the knee area thereof for further 
bracing and guiding the cable means therethrough. The bracing and guiding 
means may comprise an additional elastic patch secured to the leggings 
means so as to have an opening through which the cable means passes. The 
means for sercuring the first end of the cable means may be attached to 
the leggings means on the upper rear side portion thereof, and the guide 
means in one embodiment extends therefrom along the leggings means 
downwardly about the outer side portion across the front side portion to 
the inside knee portion, and then about the upper rear calf portion 
downwardly around the outer side mid-calf portion and across the front 
lower calf and ankle portion to be terminated at the inside arch of the 
foot of the user. Second guide means may also be provided for housing 
second cable means and are attached to the leggings means and extend 
between the upper front side portion thereof to the outside arch of the 
foot of the user in a fashion complimentary to the first guide means. 
Additionally, substantially identical structure may be provided for the 
other leg of the user. 
In an alternate embodiment, the means for securing the first end of the 
cable means is attached to the leggings means on the middle rear side 
portion thereof, while the guide means extends therefrom along the 
leggings means downwardly about the rear thigh portion to the inside knee 
portion, and then across the front knee portion and around and down the 
rear calf portion to be terminated at the inside arch of the user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent 
identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and more 
particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, the injury prevention device for athletes 
is indicated generally by reference numeral 10. Device 10 is illustrated 
as would be worn on the legs of an athlete during or prior to the 
commencement of an athletic contest in order to minimize the possibility 
of knee, lower leg, ankle or foot injury, in a manner which will become 
more clear hereinafter. 
The device 10 includes an elastic, corset-like pair of tights or leggings 
16 having a waistband 18 and leg portions 12 and 15. The leggings 16 are 
tight-fitting, lightweight, and will not interfere with the athlete's 
normal ability to maneuver. Also illustrated in FIG. 1 are a pair of 
athletic shoes 20 and 22 which have been modified in a manner which will 
be described in greater detail hereinbelow. 
Wrapped about each leg and extending from an upper anchoring device 24 
located on the rear side portion of the leggings 16 to a lower anchoring 
device indicated generally by reference numeral 26 and located on the 
inside arch of each shoe 20 and 22 is a flexible, non-elastic cable 28, 
which is preferably made of steel. Other materials, either natural or 
synthetic, may be utilized. 
The cable 28 is preferably encased in a guide member 30 which, as 
illustrated in FIG. 3, is preferably formed of two layers 32 and 34 of 
elastic which may be pinned or stitched at 36 to the elastic leggings 16. 
FIG. 2 illustrates one possible construction of the upper anchoring device 
24 in greater detail. the upper end 42 of the cable assembly 30 may be 
secured to the leggings 16 by means of transversely extending retaining 
pieces 38 and 40 which may be secured to the leggings 16 by stitched or 
otherwise secured retainer member 39. 
Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, the lower anchoring device 26 is 
illustrated in greater detail. It may be appreciated from FIG. 1 that the 
normal athletic shoe 20 may be modified or supplemented by the addition 
thereto of a U- or L-shaped foot brace 44 having a lower plate 46 adapted 
to be positioned under the arch of the foot of a user. Extending 
perpendicularly upwardly from foot plate 46 is a flange 48 which is 
adapted to be mounted on the outside of the shoe 20. A guide tube 56 and 
retaining tube 52 are formed in an aligned relationship on the flange 48 
and include longitudinal apertures therein for receiving the cable 28. 
More particularly, the lower end 50 of the cable 28 is enlarged and 
thereby secured to the brace 44 by means of a similarly shaped aperture in 
lower retaining tube 52. A portion of the cable 28 adjacent lower end 50 
is threaded as at 54, and a tension-adjusting nut 58 is positioned 
adjacent the steel guide tube 56 for adjusting the tension in cable 28 
throughout the assembly. Obviously, other equivalent anchoring means will 
suggest themselves to a person of ordinary skill in the art. 
In the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, a cable assembly 30 is 
provided for each leg and extends from the upper anchoring device 24 
downwardly to the foot anchor 26 so as to encircle the leg at least one 
full turn. More particularly, in the illustrated embodiment, the guide 
means for the cable extends from the upper anchoring device 24 downwardly 
about the outer thigh portion 25 across the front thigh portion 27 to the 
inside knee portion 29 of the leggings 16. Then, the cable assembly 30 
continues downwardly along the upper rear calf portion 31 around the outer 
side mid-calf portion 33 and across the front lower calf and ankle portion 
35 to be terminated on the inside arch of the foot at anchor assembly 26. 
When suitably tensioned, the cables 28 are made taut to thereby protect the 
limb complex unit from angular and torsional stresses during the severe 
motion and contacts encountered in athletic activities, thereby acting as 
an important prophylactic device. 
Preferably formed on both sides of the knee portion 37 of leggings 16 are 
lateral braces and guide members which are indicated generally by 
reference numeral 60 in FIG. 1. As illustrated in greater detail in FIGS. 
4 and 5, each brace 60 may comprise an elastic piece of material 62 which 
is coupled to a pair of retaining fabric pieces 66 and 68 that are, in 
turn, secured to the leggings 16 by, for example, sewing. Metal clips 64 
with hooks 70 may be utilized to cooperate with eyelets 72 in pieces 66 
and 68 for securing the elastic piece 62 in place. In this construction, 
an opening is provided on both the inside and outside knee portions 
through which the cable assembly 30 may extend, as indicated by reference 
numeral 39 in FIG. 1. 
FIG. 8 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the present invention which 
basically includes two sets of cable assemblies for each leg. Each cable 
assembly is wound in a complimentary fashion to the other. More 
specifically, top front supports 74 and 76 are provided in addition to the 
top anchors 24 and 24' of the first embodiment. From the anchors 74 and 76 
extend substantially identical cable assemblies 82 and 84 which are wound 
in the reverse fashion about the leg so that they terminate in respective 
lower anchoring devices 78 and 80, respectively. In FIG. 8, the knee 
braces 60 are not illustrated for the sake of simplicity, but they may be 
provided if desired. The lower anchoring devices 78 and 80 may be 
substantially identical to the anchor device 26 as described hereinabove. 
Referring now to FIG. 9, yet another alternate mode of winding a cable 
assembly about the leg is illustrated and is seen to include an upper 
anchoring device 86 positioned on the middle rear side portion of leggings 
16. The guide means 88 for the cable therewithin extends from anchor 86 
downwardly about the rear thigh portion to the inside knee portion, and 
then across the front knee portion and around and down the rear calf 
portion to be terminated at the inside arch of the user. A narrow angled 
sling 90 may be provided across the front of the knee to further assist in 
preventing inner knee stress. Sling 90 may be widened as indicated by 
dotted lines at 92 to further reduce inner knee stress, as may be required 
for a particular athlete. 
Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention 
are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, the cables may 
be alternated, and utilized singly or doubly, depending upon the amount of 
stability desired for the knee-lower leg-ankle-foot complex. As pointed 
out above, when used singly, the cable may be routed either around the 
front or the back of the upper and lower legs, respectively, and may be 
attached to either the inner or outer part of the athletic shoe. The 
present invention is designed to be utilized by athletes prior to 
occurrence of injury, in order to prevent same. The complex limb units are 
prevented from being overstressed during motion or contact. 
Therefore, it is to be understood that within the scope of the appended 
claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically 
described herein.