Method for functional evaluation and exercising the back muscles of a person

Disclosed is a back exerciser including a table having first and second separate, but adjacent sections aligned with each other so that the first section supports the torso of the person reclining on the table and the second section supports the lower body of such person. The second section is mounted to rotate about a vertical axis which is nearest the first section and positioned so that, with the person reclining on his or her sdiee on the table, the vertical axis intersects the greater trochanter of the person's leg. Means for securing the person to the table so that said person, while reclining on his or her side, may cause the second section to rotate about a vertical axis by bending the lower body relative to the torso. The second section is adapted to rotate either clockwise or counterclockwise about a vertical axis. A dynamometer is coupled to the table for measuring the muscular performance of the person's back muscles during rotation of the second section.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to an exercise device, and in particular, an 
exercise device which is used to exercise one's back in a safe manner for 
therapeutic purposes and also to measure, for example, the torque 
generated by the muscles so exercised. 
2. Background Discussion 
There is a need for equipment which will safely measure the work, power, 
endurance and torque generated by the human back muscles during exercise. 
Insufficient data now makes it extremely difficult to determine what is 
the normal performance of back muscles for patients of differing sizes and 
weights. Ideally, a back exerciser coupled to suitable electronic 
measuring and recording instrumentation would enable one to collect data 
on the normal performance of back muscles from a broad sampling of 
patients and then use this data in evaluating an individual patient's 
performance under similar test conditions. 
Conventional back exercisers which are currently being sold are designed so 
that the person using the exerciser assumes a generally vertical position 
and bends at the waist. During exercise musclar performance of the back 
muscles is measured by a conventional dynamometer. Torque, power, work and 
endurance are measured and recorded, and these measurements provide 
quantitative data indicating how the back muscles are performing and this 
data is then analyzed to functionally evaluate the condition of the 
person's back muscles. 
There are two problems associated with such conventional exercisers. First, 
as soon as the person begins, to bend at the waist, the weight of the 
apparatus, once the apparatus moves off the vertical, becomes a factor 
which prevents an accurate measurement. The heavier the equipment, the 
greater the momentum generated by the person bending at the waist. This 
momentum prevents obtaining a truly accurate measurement of the muscular 
performance. Secondly, because the person has assumed a vertical position 
and then bends to move from this vertical position, carrying the exercise 
equipment on his back, the weight of the exercise equipment could cause 
injury. In other words, the person may strain his or her back muscles 
which are being stretched under the weight of the exercise equipment and 
the weight of the torso. 
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
I have now invented a back exerciser which minimizes the influence of 
momentum in measuring torque, work, power and endurance, and is designed 
to enable the person using it to assume a horizontal position so that the 
weight of the equipment will not cause injury to the person's back during 
use of the exerciser. 
This exerciser includes a generally flat table on which the person using 
the exerciser reclines on his or her side in a generally horizontal 
position. The table has first and second separate, but adjacent, sections. 
These sections are aligned with each other, so that the first section 
supports the torso of the person reclining on the table and the second 
section supports the lower body of such person. The second section is 
mounted to rotate about a vertical axis in either a clockwise or 
counter-clockwise direction. The mounting means are adjacent the end of 
the second section nearest the first section and positioned so that, with 
the person reclining on his or her side on the table, the vertical axis 
intersects the greater trochanters of the person's legs. I have found that 
the person's torso will tend to bend about an axis running through the 
greater trochanters rather than further up the spine. Thus, the normal 
axis about which a person bends his or her torso with respect to the lower 
body is one which intersects the greater trochanters of the legs of the 
person. This is the preferred axis of rotation, however, the body may be 
positioned with the axis of rotation at any point so as to evaluate the 
functional abilities of various segments of the spine. 
The exerciser includes back supports removably attached to the top of the 
table which brace the back of the person reclining on the table. These 
supports include straps for securing the person to the table so that, 
while reclining, the person may cause the second section to rotate about 
the vertical axis by bending the lower body relative to the torso. The 
person may bend so that there is flexing of the muscles, causing the table 
to rotate about the axis in one direction, and then extend his muscles and 
legs backward to cause the table to rotate in an opposite direction until 
the muscles are in extension. Thus, the muscles can be both exercised in 
flexion and extension. The same back muscles are exercised when either the 
torso is moved and the legs remain stationary, or the legs are moved and 
the torso remains stationary. I employ the latter approach in the 
preferred embodiment of my invention, because the lower body portion has a 
lower mass and therefore the effects of momentum will be minimized. 
Also in accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention, a 
dynamometer is connected to the table for measuring muscular performance 
of the person during rotation of the second section of the table. People 
of different sizes generate, for example, different torques under 
different conditions and the dynamometer is the device used to measure 
these torques. A conventional isokinetic dynamometer is employed. The 
person will generate a torque during use of the exerciser and this torque 
is measured and displayed on a suitable chart paper or video display, thus 
providing a visual indication of the numerical value of the torque. This 
torque measurement is useful in diagnosing back ailments and injuries as 
well as characterizing the type of athletic skills a person may have 
because of his unique muscular condition or development. 
The back exerciser of this invention has several advantages. First, it is 
relatively lightweight and the momentum generated during use is not as 
great a factor in influencing the measurement of muscular performance as 
conventional equipment. Secondly, and most importantly, because the person 
using the equipment is in the horizontal position and also due to the low 
momentum, the back exerciser of this invention is inherently safe. This is 
so because the person does not have to be concerned with overcoming the 
weight of the apparatus and his or her torso in returning the equipment to 
its normal start position when he or she feels pain. With the exerciser of 
the present invention, if the user experiences any pain or discomfort, he 
or she merely stops proceeding with the exercise. With conventional 
equipment where the user starts the bending exercise from a vertical 
position, once the commitment is made to bend, the person ultimately has 
to again return the equipment to its normal vertical position. In doing 
this he or she must overcome the weight of the equipment and the torso. 
Therefore, the user cannot stop during the middle of the exercise. The is 
not the case with the back exerciser of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the back exerciser 10 of this invention includes 
an elevated table 12 having two separate sections 14 and 16 which are 
adjacent and aligned with each other. The two sections 14 and 16 each 
include padded tops 18 and 20, respectively, with the top of sections 
having mounted thereon a headrest 22, including neck support 22a, and 
waist pillow 24, including back support 24a, at the appropriate positions 
to accommodate a person using the exerciser. The first section 14 supports 
the torso of the person reclining on the table 12 and the second section 
16 supports the lower body of this person. The section 14 supporting the 
torso is carried on a stand 26 having vertical legs 28 which support the 
exerciser 10. A platform 30 extends between the legs of this section and 
is disposed below the table top 18. The platform 30 has secured to it, a 
dynamometer 32 which preferably is of the isokinetic type, such as sold by 
the Cybex Division of Lumex Corporation located in Ronkonkoma, N.Y. This 
type has a video display 33 where there is shown a graph depicting the 
torque generated by the back muscles during exercise. Also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 
3,465,592 and 3,784,194 disclose suitable dynamometer. 
The section 16 supporting the lower body has an under structure 34 which 
supports the section 16 and is mounted on a shaft 36 which extends 
upwardly from the platform 30 and into a bearing member 38 on the table. 
The section 16 is mounted to rotate either clockwise or counterclockwise 
about the vertical axis 40 of the shaft 36. A pulley 41 couples the shaft 
36 to the input of the dynamometers. 
As best depicted in FIG. 1, a person reclining on his or her side positions 
him/herself on the table so that the greater trochanters 42 of the femurs 
are aligned so that the vertical axis 40 of the shaft 36 intersects both 
of them. This vertical axis 40 is the bend line about which the person 
moves his or her torso relative to the lower body. The person, by 
positioning his or her body on the table 12 so that the greater 
trochanters of the femurs are directly over the shaft, insures that the 
axis of rotation is coextensive with the bend line. 
To insure that a person is properly positioned on the table 12, there is 
provided in the padded top 20 an indentation 21 adapted to receive a 
person's trochanter when he or she is lying on his or her side. This 
indentation 21 is directly above the end of the shaft 36, with the axis 40 
intersecting the center of the indentation. This indentation thus serves 
as a means for locating a person so that his or her trocanters are 
intersectingly aligned with the axis 40. 
The two sections 14 and 16 are each equipped with back braces 46 and 48, 
respectively. Each back brace includes straps for attachably securing the 
person to the table and a pair of posts 50. There are two pairs of spaced 
holes 52 in the tops of the two sections, with only one pair shown in FIG. 
2 because the post 50 of the braces 46 and 48 are inserted into the other 
pair. This enables the back braces 46 and 48 to be moved between the 
positions shown in solid lines to the positions shown in dotted lines. As 
will be discussed below in detail, this permits the person using the 
exerciser 10 to shift his or her body from one side to the other side. 
Preferably, a leg pillow 54 is placed behind the person's knees between 
his or her legs and the back brace 48. 
Operation 
To use the exerciser, one first reclines horizontally on his or her side on 
the table 12 as shown in FIG. 1, aligning him/herself so that the vertical 
axis 40 of rotation intersects the greater trochanters 42 of one's legs. 
The user has his or her back flush with the back braces 46 and 48 and is 
strapped into position by the straps 49 so that the user's body is secured 
to the back braces. This enables him or her to move or bend the lower body 
about the bend line running through the left and right greater trochanters 
of the femurs. 
As shown in FIG. 4, and identified as position A, the user bends about the 
bend line and exercises his or her back muscles in flexion. The user then 
rotates in an opposite direction, stretching his legs backward to extend 
his or her back muscles in extension as identified as position B. The 
dynamometer 32 measures the torque generated by this exercise, torque 
being simply the effectiveness of the force of the back muscles in setting 
the table into rotation. The torque is expressed in foot-pounds and is 
displayed on the video display 33 of the dynamometer. 
The person is next unstrapped and then the back braces 46 and 48 are moved 
from the position shown in solid lines to the position shown in dotted 
lines. The person now turns on his or her opposite side, is again strapped 
onto the table 12 with her or her back against the braces, and now repeats 
the exercise. It is desirable to measure the torque generated with the 
person assuming a reclining position on both his left and right sides in 
order to get a more accurate measurement. 
In accordance with one of the main features of this invention, if at any 
time the person using the exerciser 10 wishes to stop exercising, he or 
she may do so at any time without regard for the position of section 16. 
Thus, the exerciser is safe. 
The above description presents the best mode contemplated of carrying out 
the present invention. This invention is, however, susceptible to 
modifications and alternative constructions from the embodiment shown in 
the drawing and described above. Consequently, it is not the intention to 
limit this invention to the particular embodiment disclosed. On the 
contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications and alternative 
constructions falling within the scope of the invention as expressed in 
the appended claims.