Abstract:
A therapeutic compression wrap is provided, comprising: a first front foam panel having inside and outside surfaces and configured to cover a front portion of at least part of a patient&#39;s limb; loop closure material stretched over and secured to the outside surface of the first front foam panel; a first back foam panel having inside and outside surfaces and configured to cover a back portion of the at least part of the limb; fabric stretched over and secured to the outside surface of the first back foam panel; and first hook closure material secured to side edges of the inside surface of the back foam panel, the first hook closure material matable with the loop closure material whereby the back foam panel is securable to the front foam panel.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION DATA 
       [0001]    The present application is related to commonly-owned and co-pending U.S. Provisional Application Ser. Nos. 62/061,495, entitled WICK-DRI SLEEVE/FOAM COMPRESSION WRAP, and 62/061,488, entitled SHORT AND LONG STRETCH BANDAGE/WRAP, both of which were filed on Oct. 8, 2014, and both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to the treatment of symptoms of fluid retention in human limbs, such as from lymphedema, and, in particular, to a therapeutic compression wrap and method of applying the wrap to a limb to reduce swelling of the limb. 
       BACKGROUND ART 
       [0003]    Lymphedema is among several medical conditions that causes retention of fluid in one or more extremities of a human body. Without going into medical detail, lymphedema may be caused by a compromised lymphatic system, reducing the ability of lymphatic fluid to properly move from the extremity, such as a leg. Resulting swelling of the extremity may range from slight to severe and may impede every day activities as well as causing discomfort. Various mild to severe complications may occur if lymphedema is not treated properly. 
         [0004]    The typical treatment for lymphedema includes the use of compression around the affected limb in an effort to move fluid from the limb towards the body. Various compression wraps are known but have numerous drawbacks, not the least of which is the time it takes to secure a compression wrap in place, often taking 45-60 minutes to secure wraps onto two limbs. In addition to being time consuming, current methods may necessitate the services of a medical professional, thereby requiring the patient to incur expenses, such as insurance co-pays, and travel time. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    Embodiments of the present invention provide a therapeutic compression wrap, comprising: a first front foam panel having inside and outside surfaces and configured to cover a front portion of at least part of a patient&#39;s limb; loop closure material stretched over and secured to the outside surface of the first front foam panel; a first back foam panel having inside and outside surfaces and configured to cover a back portion of the at least part of the limb; fabric stretched over and secured to the outside surface of the first back foam panel; and first hook closure material secured to side edges of the inside surface of the back foam panel, the first hook closure material matable with the loop closure material whereby the back foam panel is securable to the front foam panel. 
         [0006]    Embodiments of the present invention also include a method of applying a compression wrap to a patient&#39;s limb and a method of providing a therapeutic compression wrap. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  illustrates a front perspective view of an embodiment of a full leg foam compression wrap of the present invention; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2A  illustrates the outside of the back panel of the full leg foam compression wrap of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2B  illustrates the inside of the back panel of the full leg foam compression wrap of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3A  illustrates the outside of the front panel of the full leg foam compression wrap of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3B  illustrates the inside of the front panel of the full leg foam compression wrap of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  illustrates a front perspective view of an embodiment of a lower leg foam compression wrap of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5A  illustrates the outside of the back panel of the lower leg foam compression wrap of  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5B  illustrates the inside of the back panel of the lower leg foam compression wrap of  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6A  illustrates the outside of the front panel of the lower leg foam compression wrap of  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 6B  illustrates the inside of the front panel of the lower leg foam compression wrap of  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  illustrates a front perspective view of an embodiment of a thigh foam compression wrap of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 8A  illustrates the outside of the back panel of the thigh foam compression wrap of  FIG. 7 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 8B  illustrates the inside of the back panel of the thigh foam compression wrap of  FIG. 7 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 9A  illustrates the outside of the front panel of the thigh foam compression wrap of  FIG. 7 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 9B  illustrates the inside of the front panel of the thigh foam compression wrap of  FIG. 7 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 10  illustrates an alternative embodiment of a thigh or upper leg compression wrap; 
           [0023]      FIG. 11  illustrates the outside of the front panel of the thigh foam compression wrap of  FIG. 10 ; 
           [0024]      FIG. 12  illustrates the outside of the back panel of the thigh foam compression wrap of  FIG. 10 ; 
           [0025]      FIG. 13  illustrates an embodiment of a roll of short stretch wrap of the present invention; 
           [0026]      FIG. 14  illustrates the inside of the ends of the short stretch wrap of  FIG. 13 ; 
           [0027]      FIG. 15  illustrates the outside of an end of the short stretch wrap of  FIG. 13 ; 
           [0028]      FIG. 16  illustrates the short stretch wrap of  FIG. 13  in place around the lower leg compression wrap of  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0029]      FIG. 17  illustrates an inner sleeve that may be worn under the foam compression wrap of  FIGS. 1, 4, and 7 ; 
           [0030]      FIG. 18  illustrates a lower end of the inner sleeve of  FIG. 17 ; 
           [0031]      FIG. 19  illustrates the ends of the inner sleeve of  FIG. 14  after the lower leg foam compression wrap of  FIG. 4  has been put secured on a leg with the short stretch wrap of  FIG. 13 ; 
           [0032]      FIG. 20  illustrates the ends of the inner sleeve of  FIG. 17  after being folded over the ends of the foam compression wrap of  FIG. 4  and short stretch wrap of  FIG. 13 ; and 
           [0033]      FIG. 21  illustrates a front perspective view of an embodiment of a full arm foam compression wrap of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0034]    The described features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention. 
         [0035]    Embodiments of the present invention provide easy to secure foam compression wraps that may be used in the treatment of Lymphedema and other related conditions. In fact, the foam compression wraps of the present invention may be secured by the patient, without requiring the services of a health care professional, onto two limbs in about 15 minutes, a considerable savings of time. As will be described, embodiments of the present invention include a full limb foam compression wrap (illustrated and described using a compression wrap for a leg as an example), a lower limb compression wrap (illustrated and described using a lower leg wrap as an example), and an upper limb compression wrap (illustrated and described using a compression wrap for a thigh as an example). Embodiments of the present invention also provide a short stretch wrap, which may be used to secure the foam compression wraps in place, and a sleeve, which may be used as a base layer under the foam compression wraps. 
         [0036]      FIG. 1  illustrates a front perspective view of an embodiment of a full leg foam compression wrap  100  of the present invention. The wrap  100  includes a back panel  102  and a front panel  104  that may be joined around the leg.  FIGS. 2A and 2B  illustrate the outside  102 A and inside  102 B, respectively of the back panel  102  and  FIGS. 3A and 3B  illustrate the outside  104 A and inside  104 B, respectively of the front panel  104 . Each panel is cut from open cell foam. The outside of the back panel  102  may be covered with a fabric  106  that has preferably been heat fused onto the foam  102 . Although the fabric  106  may be glued onto the surface of the foam  102 , heat fusing eliminates the use of chemical adhesive and their adverse residual effects. In addition to providing an attractive appearance, the fabric, when stretched over the foam, also provides some compression to the wrap  100 , as indicated by the double arrow ‘A’. Hook closure material  108 , such as from Velcro™ hook-and-loop material, may be sewn or otherwise secured to the side edges of the inside surface  102 B of the back panel  102 . A loop material  110  may be secured, again such as by sewing or heat fusing, to the outside  104 A of the front panel  104 . The front panel  104  is wrapped around the front of the patient&#39;s leg. Then, the back panel  102  is wrapped around the back of the leg and secured to the front panel  102  by pressing the hook material  108  to the loop material  110  on the front surface  104 A of the front panel  104 . Preferably, the front panel  104  has a slit  112  cut near the lower end to permit the front panel  104  to bend forward at the patient&#39;s ankle (see also  FIG. 1 ). As will be described below, a base layer sleeve  500  ( FIG. 14 ) is put on over the leg before the foam panels  102 ,  104  are put in place and a short stretch wrap material  400  ( FIG. 10 ) is wrapped around the outside of the foam panels  102 ,  104  to secure them in place and, more importantly, to provide the desired compression necessary to move fluid from the lower part of the leg (or the outer extremity of the limb) towards the body.  FIG. 21  illustrates a front perspective view of an embodiment of a full arm foam compression wrap  120  of the present invention with foam back and front panels  122 ,  124 , respectively, similar in construction to the full leg foam compression wrap  100 . 
         [0037]      FIGS. 4, 5A, 5B, 6A, and 6B  illustrate views of a lower leg compression wrap  200  that correspond to the views of the full leg compression wrap of  FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B ,  3 A, and  3 B, respectively. The wrap  200  includes a foam back panel  202  and a foam front panel  204  that may be joined around the lower leg, below the patient&#39;s knee.  FIGS. 5A and 5B  illustrate the outside  202 A and inside  202 B, respectively of the back panel  202  and  FIGS. 6A and 6B  illustrate the outside  204 A and inside  204 B, respectively of the front panel  204 . The outside of the back panel  202  may be covered with a fabric  206  that has preferably been heat fused onto the foam  202 . The fabric, when stretched over the foam, provides some compression to the wrap  200 , as indicated by the double arrow ‘B’. Hook closure material  208  may be sewn or otherwise secured to the side edges of the inside surface  202 B of the back panel  202 . A loop material  210  may be secured to the outside  204 A of the front panel  204 . The front panel  204  is wrapped around the front of the patient&#39;s lower leg. Then, the back panel  202  is wrapped around the back of the leg and secured to the front panel  202  by pressing the hook material  208  to the loop material  210  on the front surface  204 A of the front panel  204 . Preferably, a slit  212  may be cut through the front panel  204  near the lower end to permit the front panel  204  to bend forward at the patient&#39;s ankle (see also  FIG. 4 ). A base layer sleeve  500  ( FIG. 14 ) may be put on over the lower leg before the foam panels  202 ,  204  are put in place and a short stretch wrap material  400  ( FIG. 10 ) is wrapped around the outside of the foam panels  202 ,  204  to secure them in place and to provide the desired compression. 
         [0038]      FIGS. 7, 8A, 8B, 9A, and 9B  illustrate views of a thigh or upper leg compression wrap  300  that correspond to the views of the full leg compression wrap of  FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B , respectively. The wrap  300  includes a foam back panel  302  and a foam front panel  304  that may be joined around the thigh, above the patient&#39;s knee.  FIGS. 8A and 8B  illustrate the outside  302 A and inside  302 B, respectively of the back panel  302  and  FIGS. 9A and 9B  illustrate the outside  304 A and inside  304 B, respectively of the front panel  304 . The outside of the back panel  302  may be covered with a fabric  306  that has preferably been heat fused onto the foam  302 . Hook closure material  308  may be sewn or otherwise secured to the side edges of the inside surface  302 B of the back panel  302 . A loop material  310  may be secured to the outside  304 A of the front panel  304 . The fabric, when stretched over the foam, provides some compression to the wrap  200 , as indicated by the double arrow ‘C’. The front panel  304  is wrapped around the front of the patient&#39;s thigh. Then, the back panel  302  is wrapped around the back of the thigh and secured to the front panel  302  by pressing the hook material  308  to the loop material  310  on the front surface  304 A of the front panel  304 . A base layer sleeve  500  ( FIG. 14 ) may be put on over the upper leg before the foam panels  302 ,  304  are put in place and a short stretch wrap material  400  ( FIG. 10 ) is wrapped around the outside of the foam panels  302 ,  304  to secure them in place and to provide the desired compression. In one embodiment, the front foam thigh panel  304  extends down and over the front foam lower panel  204  to provide full coverage of the leg (when a full leg wrap  100  is not used). The bottom of the thigh front panel  304  may be secured to the top of the of lower panel  204  with, for example, hook-and-loop material. 
         [0039]      FIG. 10  illustrates an alternative shape for a thigh or upper leg compression wrap  320 . The wrap  320  includes a foam back panel  322  and a foam front panel  324  that are with on a diagonal along the top edges, as more clearly shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 , to provide more comfort along the patient&#39;s inner thigh. The back and front panels  322 ,  324  of the compression wrap  320  wrap around the upper leg and attach to each other in the same manner as the embodiment of the upper leg compression wrap of  FIGS. 7, 8A, 8B, 9A, and 9B . 
         [0040]    The dimensions of each foam panel will depend on the size, age, and needs of the patient. Each foam panel may be custom cut for each patient or may be provided in a number of precut common sizes. The foam may be any thickness, again depending on the individual patient; ¼″, ⅜″, ½″, and ⅜″ are useful thicknesses. The foam panels are preferably cut from open cell foam. 
         [0041]    As briefly noted above, the compression foam panels may be wrapped with short stretch wrap.  FIG. 13  illustrates a roll  400  of such wrap. The wrap  400  may be provided in a variety of lengths and widths. Preferably, hook closure fabric is secured, such as by sewing, to one side (the side that will become the inside of the wrap  400 ) of each end of the wrap  400  (see also  FIG. 14 ). Loop closure fabric  404  is secured, such as by sewing to reduce any loss of stretchability of the wrap  400 , along a length of the opposite side (the side that will become the outside of the wrap  400 ) near the ends of the wrap  400  (see  FIG. 15 ). When the panels are wrapped with multiple rolls of short stretch wrap  400 , the hook material  402  of one roll may be used to secure the beginning end of the roll to the loop material  404  at the end of the previous roll. Hook material  402  at the end of the last roll may be used to secured the end to the loop material  404  at the same end, thus securing the wrap (see  FIG. 16 ). No clips, tape, or other means are necessary, making it easier to the patient to self wrap, even with one hand. Furthermore, the foam panels may be wrapped with different amounts of compression along different parts of the limb, either by wrapping with less compression as the wrapping progresses from the extremity of the limb towards the body or by separately wrapping different portions of the limb with different short stretch rolls  400  and applying different amounts of compression to each. As fluid is moved by the compression towards the body, swelling of the limb will decrease, causing the wrap to loosen. It becomes easy to the patient to quickly unwrap the short stretch wraps  400  and re-wrap them to maintain the desired compression on the limb and keep the fluid moving towards the body. Additionally, the foam panels may also be tightened at the same time to remove the resulting space between the limb and the inside of the panels, thereby maintaining the proper compression. And, as swelling in the limb is reduced over time, the patient may trim the back foam thigh panels  304  along sides from the top down to reduce the width and trim the length or width, or both, of the lower leg foam panels  204 , thereby aiding the maintenance of the reduced swelling. Similarly, the width of the full length wrap may also be trimmed. 
         [0042]    As also briefly noted above, the patient preferably puts on a base layer sleeve  500  (see  FIG. 17 ) before putting the foam panels in place. The sleeve  500  is preferably made from a moisture wicking fabric. As with the foam panels, the sleeve  500  may be custom made for each patient or may be provided in a number of common lengths and diameters. The sleeve  500  may be cut as a trapezoid from a roll of appropriate material. The outer edges may then be sewn together to form a tapering sleeve  500 . As illustrated in  FIG. 18 , a band of elastic  502  may be sewn around at least the lower end of the sleeve, such as by sewing the elastic  502  into a pocket  504  around the end. Preferably, the sleeve  500  is cut several inches longer than the length of the limb to be covered ( FIG. 19 ) so that the excess at the ends may be folded over the upper and lower ends of the short stretch wrap  400  ( FIG. 20 ). 
         [0043]    The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.