A METHOD OF RAISING A DISABLED PERSON FROM SITTING TO STANDING

Abstract: In a method of raising a disabled person from sitting to standing, a harness is used that comprises a waist belt (11) to which a support (12) for the backside is attached. One arranges the two attachments of the support (12) to the waist belt (11) within 10 cm from each other and puts the support under the gluteal muscles and then pulls the waist belt forwardly/upwardly to raise the person. One applies the pulling force at about 45 degrees to the horizontal at the beginning of the raising operation and gradually reduces the angle. The method reduces the strain on the back of the assistant as compared to conventional methods.

Description: A method of raising a disabled person from sitting to standing Field of invention This invention relates to a method of raising a disabled person from sitting to standing by applying a waist belt and a support attached to the waist belt and pulling the person to upright position by pulling the waist belt upwardly. Background of the invention Particularly among old people it is common that a person can stand on his/her own feet and perhaps also walk with a walking frame or the like, but still, the person cannot raise from sitting to standing without assistance. Of respect to the person, his/her assistant usually wants to avoid mechanical lifting devices and, as a result, strain injuries are common among people working with disabled people. US 5,896,859-A shows a waist belt with a support strap. The two attachments of the support strap to the waist belt are wide apart and the support strap is arranged to be put under the upper thighs of the person. The support strap will keep the waist belt in position, but it will not reduce the lifting force and it will not reduce the strain on the assistance's back and reduce the risk of strain injuries. Object of invention It is an object of the invention to provide a method of raising a disabled person from sitting to standing, which method facilitates the work of the assistant and reduces the physical strain on the assistant and his back and at the same time gives to both the person to be assisted and his assistant a sense of security. The invention is defined by the claims. Brief description of the drawings • Figure 1 is a perspective view of a harness by which the method according to the invention can be carried out. • Figure 2 shows from the back a detail of figure 1. • Figures 3-5 show the harness shown in the preceding figures in use and • Figure 3 shows a sitting person, • Figure 4 shows the person in transfer to standing position, and • Figure 5 shows the person standing. Description of the inventive method with reference to the drawings The harness shown in the figures comprises a waist belt 11 and a support 12 for the backside, that is, for the buttocks, the gluteal muscles of the backside. Both parts are comparatively wide and the waist belt has a reinforcement band 13 with an adjustable buckle 14 by which the belt can be secured around the waist with the ends of its wide portion overlapping. The reinforcement band 13 forms a plurality of handles (for example 3-7 depending on the size of the belt) around the belt and two of the handles, the handles 15,16 are shown in figure 1. The support 12, the back of which is shown as figure 2, has a reinforcing band 17 too. The reinforcement band 17 has two straps or bands 18,19 with the one part 20,21 of closures, the other parts 22,23 of which are fastened to short straps jointly attached by attachments 28,29 to the waist belt at its middle. The reinforcement band 17 forms two handles 24,25 and the support 12 has also two more handles 26,27 transverse to the handles 24,25. Figure 3 shows the harness secured to a sitting person to be assisted and the arrow D1 shows the direction obliquely forward/upward in which the assistant initially pulls the handles 15,16 of the waist belt in order to raise the sitting person. When the assisted person is halfway up, the assistant pulls in the direction of the arrow D2 as can bee seen in figure 4; the pulling force is now more forward directed than it was initially. In figure 5, the assisted person is shown standing upright and at the end of the raising, the pulling force is directed horizontally as shown by the arrow D3. During the raising process, the distance A1 in figure 3 will successively increase to the distance A2 in figure 5 and to the distance A3 in figure 5. By the attachment of the two ends of the support 12 in the middle of the waist belt 11 and the absence of any rear attachment, the hip will be pulled forwardly and the support 12 will be successively harder tensioned during the process. The assistant need never lift the assisted person vertically but the pulling force will never be above 50 or even 45 degrees from the horizontal, which will spare the assistant's back. Thus, although the assistant need not lift the entire weight of the assisted person, the support 12 lifts the latter. The assistant as well as the assisted person feels safer, which is psychologically important. It is otherwise common that the assisted person feels insecure and anxious during the movement. The transfer of the assisted person from standing position to sitting position is carried out in the reverse mode and is likewise facilitated. The two closure members 20,21 of the waist belt 11 for the two straps 18,19 are shown fastened at the middle of the waist belt and the buckle of the waist belt is at one side thereof. It is important that the two straps 18,19 are not attached to the waist belt too wide apart since the support 12 will then tend to move off the buttocks when the assisted person nears his/hers upright position. The two attachments should not be more than 10 cm apart. The straps could also be crossed. Of course, the waist belt could have so long straps that the closures 20,22 and 21 ,23 will not be directly adjacent the waist belt. For raising very heavy persons, it is advantageous to be two assistants and each , of them can then grip a handle of the waist belt 11 and a handle of the support 12.

Claims: Claim 1. A method of raising a disabled person from sitting to standing by applying a waist belt (11) and a support (12) attached to the waist belt and pulling the person to upright position by pulling the waist belt upwardly, characterised in that one arranges the two attachments (28,29) of the support (12) to the waist belt (11) within 10 cm from each other and puts the support under the gluteals and then pulls the waist belt forwardly/upwardly to raise the person. 2. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that one begins the raising by pulling at an angle less than 50 degrees to the horizontal and gradually reduces the angle during the raising operation.

Inventors: NYGREN BERIT, SEGREN JONNA, NYGREN, BERIT, SEGREN, JONNA
Applicants: NYGREN BERIT, SEGREN JONNA, NYGREN, BERIT, SEGREN, JONNA
Application year: 2001
Main classification: A61G7
IPC codes: A61G1, A61G7