Device for use to support and immobilize damaged toes

A support and immobilizing device for a damaged toe includes a pad having a front edge from which a curved support member projects. The suppport member overlies the damaged toe and is taped to it so that the toe will be supported and immobilized. The device of the present invention can be made for specific toes of the foot and the device will be of specific configurations for the big toe, the little toe, the fourth toe and the second and third toes. Thus, a total of four devices will be made and used for the five toes of each foot; however, the basic construction of the device will always remain the same, such basic construction being the combination of the pad and support member on the top of the foot and toe, respectively.

This invention relates to improvements in devices for use in treating the 
toes of the foot and, more particularly, to a support device for holding a 
toe in a fixed position during healing of the toe after the toe has been 
damaged. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Toes of the foot are easily damaged and must be immobilized during a 
healing period. The normal treatment is wrapping the damaged toe with tape 
and wearing an orthopedic shoe. 
Devices have been constructed to immobilize toes during recovery, but most 
of these devices have been placed on the bottom of the wearer's foot. A 
tape or other wrapping material wound about the pad keeps the pad below 
the foot. However, this pad must be sufficiently thick to support the 
weight of the person. Because it is thick, the pad is uncomfortable as the 
person takes a step. Moreover, since the pad is on the bottom of the foot, 
flexing of the bottom of the foot causes flexing of the pad which adds to 
the discomfort due to the pad. Thus, a pad of conventional design is 
difficult to fit and, even if were fitted in what might be considered a 
proper manner, the pad still causes discomfort to the foot. Over long 
periods of time, the conventional pad creates an environment in which 
healing of a damaged toe takes longer than is necessary. Therefore, the 
normal device for immobilizing damaged toes is simply to wrap them with 
tape. 
Because of the foregoing drawbacks, a need exists for improvements in 
devices for supporting and immobilizing a toe in a manner such as to 
enhance the healing of the toe after it has been damaged. The present 
invention satisfies this need. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed to an improved support and immobilizing 
device for a damaged toe or several toes in which the device includes a 
pad which engages the top of the foot and having a front edge from which a 
curved support member projects. The support member overlies the damaged 
toe and is taped to it so that the toe will be supported and immobilized. 
The support member projects forwardly from the front edge of the pad 
intermediate the ends of the pad. The support member is integral with the 
pad so that the device forms a one-piece construction of plastic or metal. 
If formed of plastic, the device can be molded in a simple process. 
Moreover, if the device is molded, it can be made to be substantially 
complemental to an outer surface portion of the top of the foot and an 
outer surface portion of the top of the toe to be supported and 
immobilized. 
The support member on the forward edge of the pad has a downwardly facing 
concave inner surface to present a recess for receiving the toe to be 
supported and immobilized. Once the device is in place, the pad is fixed 
or coupled to the top of the foot by a tape or other wrapping material. 
Likewise, the toe is fixed to the support member by a tape or other 
wrapping. Fixing the device to the top of the foot is a critical feature. 
The reason for this is that, since the device does not support the 
person's weight, it can be made thinner in size. The device will, 
therefore, not cause discomfort to the wearer, such as occurs in the case 
of conventional pads which are relatively thick and are worn on the bottom 
of the foot. It will also provide more support and protection than 
bandages provide. Also, by placing the pad on the top of the foot, the 
wearer does not experience any discomfort because the flexing of the top 
of the foot is much less than the flexing of the bottom of the foot. The 
device of the present invention is thereby greatly superior to 
conventional devices for supporting and immobilizing a toe. 
The device of the present invention can be made for specific toes of the 
foot and the device will be of specific configurations for the big toe, 
the little toe, the fourth toe and the second and third toes. Thus, a 
total of four devices will be made and used for the five toes of each 
foot; however, the basic construction of the device will always remain the 
same, such basic construction being the combination of the pad and support 
member on the top of the foot and toe, respectively. 
The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved toe 
supporting and immobilizing device which avoids the problems of 
conventional devices for treating damaged toes to thereby provide a 
greater amount of comfort to the user while enhancing the healing of a 
damaged toe. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a supporting and 
immobilizing device for a toe of the foot wherein the device is formed of 
a pad and a support member which are applied to the upper part of a foot 
to avoid the problems associated with conventional devices applied to the 
bottom surface of the foot, and to provide more support than bandaging 
does. 
Other objects of the present invention will become apparent as the 
following specification progresses, reference being had to the 
accompanying drawings for an illustration of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
The toe support and immobilizing device of the present invention is broadly 
denoted by the numeral 10 and includes a toe support member 12 integral 
with a pad 14 so as to form a one-piece construction for the device. The 
support member 12 and pad 14 can be of any suitable material, such as 
plastic or metal. If formed of plastic, device 10 can be molded in a 
simple molding process. 
Device 10 can vary in dimension so that it can fit the toes of persons of 
different sizes. Moreover, the device 10 will vary in size and shape to 
accommodate a particular toe of the foot; thus, the device will typically 
have the shape of FIG. 3 when the small toe is to be supported. The device 
will take the shape of Fig. 4 when the big toe is to be supported; the 
device will take the shape of FIG. 5 if the fourth toe is to be supported; 
and the device will take the shape of FIG. 6 if the second or third toe is 
to be supported. FIG. 7 shows a device having a support member which 
overlies and supports a pair of adjacent toes, such as the second and 
third toe of the left foot. 
Generally, the pad of the present invention is flat although it could be 
slightly inclined and even slightly V-shaped so as to substantially engage 
the upper surface of the foot. The pad is elongated so that the toe 
support member 12 in FIG. 1 extends forwardly from the front edge 14a of 
pad 14 with member 12 being intermediate the ends of the pad as shown in 
FIG. 1. The length of member 12 is substantially equal to the length of 
the toe adjacent thereto. For instance, as shown in FIG. 3, the length the 
support member is substantially equal to the length of the small toe. 
Member 12 is transversely semicircular and has a recess which is defined by 
a pair of lower edges 16 and 18 (FIG. 1). The recess further has an open 
bottom through which a toe passes as the toe moves into the recess. 
Support member 12 has a concave inner surface 20 which typically rests 
upon or overlies the adjacent toe. The rear end of the support member 12 
is slightly cut away, such as at locations 22 near the pad 14 and these 
cutaway portions permit the toe to be received in the recess of the 
support member 12 without interference with the toe and without causing 
discomfort to the toe or the region of the foot from which the toe 
projects forwardly. 
When a device 10 is coupled to the foot, such as in the case of the device 
10 on the foot of FIG. 2, the pad is coupled or attached to the foot by a 
tape 24 or other wrapping material such that the pad is rendered fixed to 
the foot. The second toe 26 which is beneath the support member 12 is 
coupled to the support member by a tape 28 which is shown in dashed lines 
in FIG. 2 as extending laterally from the sides of the member 12, but it 
is to be understood that the tape 28 is wrapped around the member 12 and 
toe 26 so as to couple the toe to the member. Thus, the toe 26 is fixed to 
the device 10, and the device stabilizes the toe and immobilizes it so 
that the toe can heal more quickly. 
Fixing the device 10 to the top of the foot is critical because the device 
does not support the weight of the person; thus, the device can be much 
thinner than conventional pads which engage the bottom of the foot. 
Moreover, flexing of the top of the foot while walking is much less than 
flexing of the bottom of the foot; thus, the top of the foot is much 
superior to the bottom of the foot as a base for immobilizing the toes. In 
summary, device 10 provides a better toe support than conventional pads. 
Thus, the device 10 provides a comfortable support for the toe and allows 
the toe to heal quickly while the toe is continuously in a fixed position 
with reference to the foot. 
As to the shapes and sizes of the device 10 for use with different toes, 
reference is had to FIGS. 3-6 wherein FIG. 3 shows a device 10a having a 
pad 14a and a support member 12a which is substantially of a length equal 
to the length of the small toe 30. Pad 14a is essentially wedged-shaped 
and has a vertical portion 14b as shown in FIG. 3B, portion 14b extending 
along the sides of the foot 32 so as to fix device 10a in place and 
prevent it from moving laterally to the left when viewing FIG. 3. FIG. 3A 
shows device 10a with support member 12a overlying the small toe 30. 
FIG. 4 shows foot 32 with a device 10b having a pad 14b and a support 
member 12b. FIG. 4 shows, with FIG. 4A, that pad 14b overlies at least two 
of the toes adjacent to the big toe 34. FIG. 4B shows a vertical device 
10b. 
FIG. 5 shows a device 10c having a pad 14c and a support member 12c 
integral with pad 14c, the support member 12c being used to overlie the 
fourth toe 35 adjacent to the third toe 36. Pad 14c has a vertical 
portion, such as portion 14aa of FIG. 3B, such vertical portion of pad 14c 
being used to stabilize device 10c when the device is mounted on foot 32 
of FIG. 5. 
FIG. 6 shows foot 32 with device 10d on the foot, device 10d including a 
pad 14d and a support member 12d for covering the second toe 37. FIG. 6A 
shows support member 12d overlying the second toe 37 adjacent to first toe 
34, the pad covering toe 34 as well as the third and fourth toes, as shown 
in FIG. 6A. 
FIG. 7 shows a support device 10e having a pair of adjacent, side-by-side 
support member 12e on a pad 14e. The pad overlies the big toe 34 and the 
second, third and fourth toes with the two support members 12e overlying, 
supporting and immobilizing respective second and third toes 37 and 36, 
respectively. It is to be understood that when the device 10 is in place 
on the foot, the device is held in place by a tape or other wrapping 
material, such as tape 24 of FIG. 2 or a tape 24a of FIG. 3. Similarly, 
tape 28 of FIG. 2 and tape 28a of FIG. 3 are used to couple the toe to be 
supported with the corresponding support members.