Abstract:
A posterior lumbar lordosis orthotic device includes front and back panels and sides. The back panel is shaped to simulate the lordosis of an individual and has upper and lower regions angularly related to one another. Screws accessible from the inside of the back panel are rotatable to adjust the angle between the upper and lower regions to more closely accommodate the specific lordosis of an individual. The front panel is secured to the sides, using modified pop rivets, enabling the front panel and sides to be adjustably secured to one another to adjust the overall girth of the device and to differentially adjust the girth along upper and lower portions of the device to accommodate individuals of different waist and hip sizes.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an orthotic device for treatment of spinal disorders and particularly relates to a posterior lumbar lordosis orthotic device for adjustably bracing the back of an individual. 
     Orthotic devices for supporting and bracing an individual&#39;s back are numerous, well known and effective for maintaining the stability of the spine and particularly the lumbar region. However, difficulties are encountered in fitting such orthotic devices to various individuals. For example, individuals have varying degrees of lordosis, as well as a wide variety of girths about their torsos. Also, orthotic devices are typically sized differently for male and female individuals. Even within one gender, however, there are varying degrees of lordosis and girths about the upper torso, waist and hip areas. A common problem has been to fit the orthotic device to the particular individual and the individual&#39;s spinal curvature, as well as to accommodate the different sizes of individuals, i.e., girths about the torso including waists and hips. 
     It is possible to customize an orthotic device to an individual&#39;s anatomy. This, however, involves significant expense. A variety of orthotic devices have been proposed and constructed for adjusting the girth about an individual&#39;s torso but have not afforded differential growth adjustment to accommodate individuals of different upper torso, waist and hip sizes, keeping in mind that each individual has a unique girth and a unique lordosis. Consequently, there has developed a need for an orthotic device which is adjustable to accommodate an individual&#39;s posterior lumbar lordosis, as well as differences in sizing between individuals of each gender and the unique anatomy of each individual. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an orthotic device which is adjustable to accommodate the unique lordosis and anatomy of individuals of both genders. To accomplish the foregoing, there is provided, in a preferred embodiment, an orthotic body having back and front panels and sides interconnecting the back and front panels for encompassing an individual&#39;s torso. The back panel has upper and lower regions angularly related to one another generally corresponding to the posterior lumbar lordosis of an average individual. The average lordosis for individuals is about 10-20°. Lordosis is measured in degrees as the combined deviations of the upper and lower back regions from a vertical plane through the waist. The back panel is provided with an adjustment mechanism to alter the angle between the upper and lower regions of the back panel to shape the back panel to the unique and desired shape of an individual&#39;s back (lordosis). The adjustment mechanism preferably includes a coupling extending between the upper and lower regions of the back panel and which coupling is adjustable to change the angle between the upper and lower regions, thereby adjusting the back panel uniquely to an individual&#39;s lordosis. Particularly, the adjustment mechanism includes at least one rod, and preferably two rods, extending between reinforcements on respective upper and lower regions of the back panel. The rod, e.g., a bolt, has screw threads cooperable with mating screw threads on the back panel, to adjust the angle of the upper and lower regions relative to the vertical, i.e., to adjust to the individual&#39;s lordosis. 
     Further, to accommodate various sizes and the different anatomies of individuals within each gender, the front panel is secured to at least one of the sides such that the gross girth of the orthotic body can be adjusted. Additionally, a pair of fastening elements vertically spaced from one another are provided between the front panel and at least one side such that the girth at different elevations along the orthotic device can be adjusted. For example, the girth at the waist of the individual can be reduced, while the girth along the hip region can be enlarged by a differential placement of the fasteners between the front panel and the one side. A secondary adjustment may also be made between the opposite side and the front panel to fine-tune the adjustment. 
     In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided an orthotic device comprising an orthotic body having back and front panels and sides interconnecting the front and back panels for encompassing an individual&#39;s torso, the back panel having upper and lower regions angularly related to one another to simulate a posterior lumbar lordosis of the individual and an adjustment mechanism mounted on the back panel for adjusting the angular relation of the upper and lower regions of the device to enable the shape of the back panel to closely follow the shape of the individual&#39;s back. 
     In a further preferred embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided an orthotic device comprising an orthotic body having back and front panels and sides interconnecting the front and back panels for encompassing an individuals torso, the back panel having upper and lower regions angularly related to one another to generally correspond to the posterior lumbar lordosis of the individual and one of the sides being attached to the front panel by a pair of generally vertically spaced fasteners cooperable between the one side and the front panel to adjust the girth of the body about the individual&#39;s torso. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a posterior lumbar lordosis orthotic device constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view through the back panel illustrating a mechanism for adjusting the angle of the back panel to adjust the device to an individual&#39;s lordosis; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the orthotic device illustrating portions of the front panel and a side; 
     FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 illustrating a differential girth adjustment; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the orthotic device illustrating the front panel and another side of the device; 
     FIG. 6 is a fragmentary enlarged perspective view of straps for connecting the another side of the device to the front panel for fine adjustment; 
     FIG. 7 is an enlarged elevational view of a prior art pop rivet; 
     FIG. 8 is a plan view of a disk for use with the pop rivet of FIG. 7 to form a unique feature; 
     FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the disk of FIG. 8; and 
     FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the fastener prior to application. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, particularly to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a posterior lumbar lordosis orthotic device, generally designated  10 , including a back panel  12 , a front panel  14  and sides  16 . The front and back panels  12  and  14 , respectively, and sides  16  are preferably formed of a semi-rigid or semi-flexible plastic material such as molded polyethylene. Each of the front and back panels and sides have an interior resilient and flexible liner  18 ,  20  and  22 , respectively, such as a foam material formed of expanded open-cell polyethylene, rendering the orthotic device comfortable when donned by the individual. 
     As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the back panel  12  includes pairs of outwardly extending, laterally spaced reinforcements  24  and  26  carried by upper and lower regions  28  and  30 , respectively, of the back panel  12 . The reinforcements are molded into the back panel  12  and essentially comprise tapered channel sections projecting rearwardly from the back panel along its outside surface. The pairs of reinforcements  24  and  26  also straddle a central opening  32  through the back panel exposing a portion of the open-cell liner  18  and affording a flexibility to the back panel. The generally channel-shaped reinforcements  24  and  26  terminate in enlarged ends having end faces  34  and  36 , respectively (FIG.  2 ), in spaced opposition to one another. The upper and lower regions  28  and  30  straddle or lie on opposite sides of a waist region  29 . 
     Spanning between each exposed pair of end faces  34  and  36  is an elongated rod  38 , preferably a threaded bolt as illustrated (FIG.  2 ), having a head  40  at one end including a washer  42 . At the opposite end of the rod  38  is a nut  34  fixed against rotation in a slot for threadedly receiving the threaded end of the rod  38 . It will be appreciated that by rotating rod  38  in a direction tending to tighten the screw relative to the nut  44 , the upper and lower regions  28  and  30  will tend to increase the angle between one another, as measured along the inside face of the back panel  12 , i.e., increase the lordotic angle. By rotating the rod  38  in the opposite direction, unthreading the mating screw threads of the rod and nut relative to one another, the angle between the upper and lower regions  28  and  30 , respectively, of the back panel  12  may be decreased. It will be appreciated that the upper and lower regions  28  and  30  are shaped to generally correspond to the average posterior lumbar lordosis of an individual, i.e., about 10-20°. That is to say, the back panel  12  is molded to simulate the shape of the average lumbar region of an individual. However, the angular relationship between the upper and lower regions  28  and  30  can be adjusted to increase or decrease the lordotic angle by tightening and loosening, respectively, the mating threads of the rods  38  and nuts  44 . Access to the head  40  of rod  38  is provided from the interior side of the back panel. The liner  18  of the back panel, as well as the liners for the sides and front panel, are preferably releasably secured along the interior face of each panel and side, for example, by Velcro®, whereby the liners can be removed. By removing the liner  18  or opening a space between the liner and the back panel  12 , access may be obtained to the head  40  of the rod  38  whereby a screwdriver can be inserted to rotate the rod  38  to increase or decrease the angle between the upper and lower regions  28  and  30 , respectively, as desired. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a sleeve  46  is disposed about the rod  38  between the end faces  34  and  36  of the reinforcements  24  and  26 . By rotating the rods, the angle between the upper and lower regions  28  and  30  of the back panel  12  can be adjusted such that the back panel  12  is adjustable to complement the lordosis of the individual wearing the device thereby to support the individuals back. 
     Referring now to FIG. 4, there is illustrated an adjustable connection between the front panel and one of the sides  16   a . It will be appreciated that the sides  16  are fixed, for example, by rivets  48  (FIG.  1 ), to the opposite side margins of the back panel  12 . Along each of the sides  16  are provided a plurality of laterally spaced, horizontally extending key slots  50  aligned in a circumferential or girth direction along and adjacent upper and lower margins of the sides. That is, the key slots  50  are spaced vertically one from the other, forming vertically aligned pairs thereof at horizontally spaced locations along the upper and lower margins of sides  16 . Key slots  52  are also provided along the margin on one side of the front panel  14 . Key slots  52 , however, extend away from one another in opposite vertical directions. Fasteners  56  are provided to join the front panel  14  and side  16   a  to one another. Particularly, the fasteners include a pop rivet having an added dual disk as described below, for securing the front panel  14  and side  16   a  to one another in adjustable positions. 
     A feature of the present invention resides in the capacity of the fasteners to not only adjust the gross girth of the device about the torso of the individual but to differentially adjust the gross girth of the device at vertically spaced locations about the torso. For example, where an individual may have a thin waist and a large hip development, the upper fastener can be shifted horizontally the distance between horizontally adjacent keyhole slots such that the upper fastener defines a girth about an upper portion of the orthotic device less than the girth the lower fastener  56  affords along a lower portion of the device. In this manner, differential girths in the waist and hip regions of different individuals may be accommodated by a single orthotic device shaped to accommodate an average-sized individual. 
     The opposite side  16   b  and the edge of the front panel  14  are secured by adjustable straps  60  (FIGS.  5  and  6 ). A pair of buckles  62  are secured along the front side of the front panel at vertically spaced positions relative to one another. Straps  60  have ratchet teeth along their outer faces which cooperate with straps within the buckles  62 . The straps terminate at distal ends  63  in a connecting link which joins the distal ends to one another. It will be appreciated that the straps and buckles cooperate to permit the straps to be extended from the buckles or retracted relative to the buckles, with the buckles locking the straps  60  in selected lengths between the buckles  62  and the link  64 . Similarly as with the opposite side  16   a  of the front panel  14 , the straps  60  are provided with modified pop rivets such that the distal ends of straps  60  can be releasably secured in the key slots  50  along the side  16   b  whereby the overall girth of the device can be adjusted. Additionally, the modified pop rivets of the upper and lower straps  60  may be shifted laterally relative to one another for securement to a key slot  50  offset in the lateral direction. To accommodate such differential adjustment, key slots  65  are provided in the link  64  so that link  64  can span between laterally offset key slots  50  along upper and lower margins of the side  16   b . Thus, different girths between upper and lower portions of the orthotic device may be fine-tuned and accommodated by the straps  60  and link  64  arrangement. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 7-10, the modified rivet includes a conventional pop rivet  70  having a sleeve  72 , a disk  74  and a pin  76  having an enlarged bulbous head  78 . As conventional, two parts to be joined to one another are disposed over the sleeve  72  and the pin  76  is pulled to force the head  78  to enlarge the sleeve  72  on the opposite side of the parts from the disk  74 . Using that pop rivet as a basis, the present invention also includes an annulus  80  comprised of an outer sleeve  82  and a pair of disks  84  and  86  spaced one from the other. By locating the outer sleeve  82  over the sleeve  72  of the prior art pop rivet  70 , three disks  74 ,  84  and  86  are provided, with two annular spaces  88  and  90  between the three disks. By locating the margins of the key slots  50  and openings through the front panel within the respective annuli  88  and  90  and pulling the pin  76  to cause the sleeve  72  to enlarge over the disk  86 , the modified pop rivet enables releasable securement of the front panel  14  to the side  16 . 
     It will also be appreciated that the orthotic device is preferably molded into male and female shapes, i.e., the device is gender-specific. The differences reside primarily in the configuration of the back panel. For the female orthotic device, the lower region of the back panel has a broader curvature at its bottom and a smaller waist curvature. The male back panel is the reverse, as compared with the female back panel, i.e., a lesser curvature at the bottom of the back panel and a larger waist curvature. The gender-specific devices are also differentiated by color, e.g., gray for male and blue for female. 
     While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.