Shoulder support system with breast stress reliever for a chiropractic or medical treatment or massage table

A shoulder support system for a chiropractic or medical treatment or massage table. This table may have a main upper surface with a well or wells extending down throughout or it may have a plurality of table members. It includes two shoulder support members with a recess between them. A patient lying properly face down on the table is supported by the shoulders in contact with the shoulder support members. Where the patient is a woman, her breasts rest in the recess between the shoulder support members, being supported out of contact with the table, so that the table does not exert substantial force on her breasts. The shoulder supports are mounted on a base which may be supported by the table substructure at adjustable heights. The shoulder support members may be adjustable laterally, so that the distance between them can be varied to accommodate patients with different shoulder widths and breast sizes, all relative to the plane on which the patient is lying. Each shoulder support member may be mounted on a bracket which is slidably mounted for movement laterally with respect to the table.

The present invention relates to chiropractic and medical treatment tables, 
and to massage tables and, more particularly, to a shoulder support 
attachment system with breast stress reliever, for a chiropractic or 
medical treatment or massage table on which a patient lies, often face 
down. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Chiropractic, and much medical, treatment and massage are commonly 
performed with the patient lying on a specially designed treatment table, 
which has a number of independently adjustable support surfaces. The 
support surfaces can each be adjusted in position to provide proper 
support for the particular patient and the particular treatment. 
During the course of treatment, the chiropractor, masseur, or doctor may 
exert substantial force on the patient, forcing the patient against the 
treatment table. Although the table support surfaces are fully padded, the 
resultant force exerted by the table on the patient may cause discomfort 
to some sensitive body areas. When the patient is a woman and when the 
treatment demands that she lie face-down and on her stomach, the resulting 
force tends to press the patient's breasts against the table and may cause 
substantial discomfort. This problem of discomfort during treatment is 
particularly troublesome for heavily busted women, women with breast 
implants, women who have undergone mastectomies, or male patients who have 
any one of a number of types of chest surgeries. 
A number of chiropractic treatment tables provide vertically and 
longitudinally adjustable support surfaces for a chiropractor to 
administer treatment. Some tables used during medical treatment also 
include adjustable parts. 
An object of the present invention is to provide special support apparatus, 
for chiropractic or medical or massage treatment, which enable women 
patients to lie face-down during treatment, even pressed down by the 
chiropractor, without incurring painful pressure to their breasts, by 
providing stress relief for the breasts. 
Another object of the invention is to provide support for a chiropractic or 
medical treatment or massage table, whereby the shoulders can help support 
a woman patient lying on her stomach on the table, with her head, legs, 
midsection and other portions lying on the table, the shoulder supports 
providing a recess accommodating the patient's breasts to provide breast 
stress relief by retaining them above a base area of the table. Similar 
relief may be provided for pregnant women. 
Another object is to provide proper support and resistance adjustment of 
the thoracic spine for prone women patients. 
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved chiropractic, 
medical treatment, or massage table which supports a woman patient lying 
face down without producing pressure on her breasts. 
Other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become 
apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments, 
considered along with the accompanying drawings. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A treatment table of the present invention is provided with a pair of 
laterally adjustable shoulder supports, which treatment from the chest 
area. The shoulder supports provide the necessary support for treatment 
and provide a recess to receive the upper chest area, because the shoulder 
supports are spaced apart at a readily adjustable distance, so that 
substantially no force is exerted by the table on the chest area. The 
shoulder support system is particularly useful to increase the comfort of 
a woman patient having treatment administered while lying prone or 
face-down or on her stomach. Her body is supported flat along 
substantially a plane. The recess between the shoulder supports provides a 
place in which the patient's breasts can be held above the table's base 
surface there and out of contact with it. Substantially no force is 
exerted thereon, either by the treatment table or by the chiropractor or 
doctor. In addition to providing stress relief for breasts, similar 
assistance may be provided to pregnant women. 
The shoulder support system supplements the supply for the rest of her 
body, especially when patient lies face-down, includes two shoulder 
support members, providing a recess between them and a base on which the 
shoulder support members are mounted for lateral movement. In use, the 
shoulder support members are adjusted so that they properly support the 
particular patient. When a patient lies face down on the table, the 
patient's shoulders are supported on the shoulder supports, and the chest 
or the breasts lie in the recess between the shoulder supports. Therefore, 
no force is exerted by the table or the chiropractor or doctor or masseur 
on the patient's chest or breasts. The added force of treatment is borne 
by the patient's shoulders and other body parts but not her breasts or his 
sensitive chest area. 
In one embodiment, each shoulder support member is mounted on a bracket 
which is slidable along a base that forms a bracket track. The shoulder 
supports and brackets can be moved along the base laterally with respect 
to the table to provide the proper opening by such adjustment. Enough such 
width of the recess is important. 
The weight transmitted through the shoulders may be sufficient to hold the 
shoulder supports in place, but, if desired or needed, each bracket may 
include locking means by which it can be fixed in place along the support 
track, preventing the shoulder support members from moving during 
treatment. 
Also, if desired, a removable panel may provide similar assistance for a 
pregnant woman. 
The base is held in place by table substructure on the conventional 
chiropractic or medical treatment table. The support substructure may 
enable the base of the shoulder support members to be adjusted to various 
elevations and attitudes with respect to the other table members. Less 
complex structures may be provided, if desired.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
FIG. 1 shows a chiropractic treatment table 10 that includes a head support 
11 on which the head rests, a midsection support 12 on which the 
midsection rests, a leg support 13 on which the legs rest, and a lower leg 
support 14. Each of these supports is mounted on a substructure 15, and 
these supports 11, 12, 13, and 14 can be varied in position to different 
elevations and slopes with respect to the other support members. 
The table 10 also includes a shoulder support system 16 located between the 
head support 11 and the midsection support 12. The head support 11 may 
also include at each side a hand rest 17, where the patient's hands may 
rest. The shoulder support system 16 is mounted on the adjustable support 
substructure 15, similarly to the mounting of the other support members. 
As FIG. 2 shows, the shoulder support system 16 includes a base 18 that 
may be a standard element of the table 10, the base 18 providing at its 
outer edges a pair of bracket tracks 19, supporting brackets 20 and 21, 
and shoulder supports 22 and 23. 
When a woman lies on her stomach on the treatment table 10 for chiropractic 
or medical treatment or massage, as shown in FIG. 2, her upper body is 
supported at her shoulders by the shoulder support members 22 and 23 of 
the shoulder support system 16. On substantially the same flat plane as 
the shoulders, the head, midsection and legs are supported. The wide 
separation between the shoulder support members 22 and 23 creates a 
sufficiently large recess 24, where the patient's breasts may rest 
comfortably, without any of her body weight or any force of treatment 
bearing on the table 10. 
As shown in FIG. 3, the shoulder supports 22 and 23 of the invention may 
include a cushion filler material 25 (like that for the support of other 
portions of the patient's body) mounted on a rigid base 26 and encircled 
by upholstering 27. The shoulder supports 22 and 23 extend longitudinally 
along the table 10 a sufficient distance to provide support along the 
shoulder and to make the recess 24 of sufficient size to accommodate a 
woman's breasts. The shoulder supports 22 and 23 also extend above the 
bracket track 18 a sufficient distance to provide a basic recess depth. 
For example the shoulder supports 22 and 23, according to one embodiment, 
may be each about four inches wide, nine inches long, and extend five 
inches above the base bracket 18. 
To provide proper height for the chiropractor's convenience, the base 18 
preferably includes an elevator member or shaft 28 mounted at its lower 
end on the support substructure 15 and mounted at its upper end on the 
base 18. This structure 28 enables adjustment of the height of the base 18 
and, therefore, of the shoulder supports 20 and 21. The shaft 28 may fit 
into collar 35 and be fastened there by a set screw 36. 
The shoulder supports 22 and 23 are each mounted on a bracket 20 or 21, as 
by screws. Each bracket 20 or 21 is movable along the tracks 19 of the 
base 18. The brackets 20 or 21 each include a plate 30, which is 
approximately the same length and width as the shoulder supports 22 and 
23, and flange members 31 at either end holds the bracket 20 or 21 in 
place along the base 18. The brackets 20 and 21 ordinarily are retained in 
any position to which they are moved by the weight of the pertinent body 
portions of the patient transmitted through the shoulders. However, if 
desired, the brackets 20 and 21 may include locking means 32, by which 
they may be fixed in place at a particular position on the bracket track 
19. 
The base 18 in one embodiment is comprised of a rigid plate 24 extending 
transversely of the treatment table 10. The base 18 and the tracks 19 
extend far enough to provide a wide range of shoulder support positions to 
accommodate patients of various sizes comfortably. 
FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 illustrate different lateral positions in which the 
shoulder support members 22 and 23 may be adjusted. The two shoulder 
support members 22 and 23 may be moved along the base bracket tracks 19 
laterally with respect to the table 10 to accommodate patients having 
different shoulder widths. The shoulder supports 22 and 23 may be moved 
substantially against each other when no patient is to lie face down on 
the table. 
FIGS. 7-11 show a simplified table 50, lacking many of the adjustments 
provided by the supports 12, 13, and 14, but including a well 51 in which 
is located a base 52, like the base 18, with tracks 53 along which 
shoulder support members 54 and 55 may slide and, when set in the proper 
position, provide the needed shoulder support and breast stress relief. 
The well 51 may be open at each end as shown. The upper surface of the 
table 50 is substantially flat and coplanar. 
A removable panel 56 may lie over a second well 57 where further relief may 
be provided for a pregnant woman. Padding may be provided for the surfaces 
where desired. For chiropractic treatment, the table 50 may be 27 inches 
wide, and the well 57 may be about 19 inches wide, 10 inches long and 
about 5 inches deep. The table surface may be about 21 inches high, or, 
for massages, the height may be about 40 inches above the floor level. A 
nose-receiving well 58 may also be provided, as in some devices already 
known. 
To those skilled in the art to which this invention relates, many changes 
in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the 
invention will suggest themselves without departing from the spirit and 
scope of the invention. The disclosures and the descriptions herein are 
purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.