Patent Publication Number: US-2007094800-A1

Title: Leg Support for Relieving Back Pain

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
      This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/730,977, filed on Oct. 28, 2005. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates in general to orthopedic supports. In particular, the invention relates to a support device for use while lying supine, especially during sleep, which promotes a posture that relieves stress on the lower back.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Most people suffer from lower back pain from time to time. Many things can cause low back injuries, such as nervous muscle tension, muscle strain or spasm, fatigue, arthritis, curvature of the spine, minor spinal disc compression, pinched nerves, the menstrual cycle and pregnancy.  
      Treatment of ongoing back problems must be directed at the cause. Ultimately, long term goals such as losing weight (being overweight can also exacerbate back pain), getting in better shape, doing doctor-prescribed back exercises, and improving one&#39;s posture when sitting, standing and sleeping should be undertaken. However, for short term relief one may need a day or two of resting the back muscles. Resting longer than this is not recommended, because prolonged periods of non-use can cause the back muscles to weaken, which can slow recovery time. It is often recommended that, even if there is pain, one should walk around for a few minutes every hour to keep the back muscles stimulated. Nevertheless, achieving proper posture is especially important during sleep, where a bad posture can exacerbate low back pain.  
      One quick and easy way to achieve a proper posture to relieve low back pain is to lie on one&#39;s back on the floor with a support or supports under the knees, with the hips and knees bent. This takes the pressure and weight off the back and supports the weight of the legs, and also decreases pressure on the hip joints to help create a relaxed and comfortable resting position.  
      Many different types of cushion supports for relief of back pain have been devised over the years. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,117,095 to Daggett et al., 5,097,553 to Boland and 4,502,170 to Morrow all disclose a leg support for the relief of back pain in which the back is supported by a small pad and the thighs, lower legs and feet are supported and elevated by a large cushion or pillow.  
      U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,085,371 to Umhofer and 3,946,451 to Spann both disclose a leg support apparatus which supports a single leg. The Umhofer support is made from cardboard, plastic, or a wire frame. The Spann support is made of a foam material and is designed to keep the foot elevated off the bed to promote healing of leg and foot injuries and prevent formation of decubitus ulcers.  
      Both U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,878,453 to Stokes and 5,871,457 to Swedberg et al. disclose a leg support pillow which includes a between-knee portion for aiding the user in lying on their side. Similarly, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,789,282 to Frydman and 5,746,218 to Edge disclose leg supports designed to allow the user sleep on their side, with the support intended to fit between the user&#39;s knees or legs.  
      While the prior art supports mentioned above may be useful for their intended purposes, there remains a need in the art for a therapeutic support that allows the user&#39;s lower back to lay flat on a bed while keeping the knees comfortably bent and the feet flat on the bed surface. There is also a need for a leg support that counteracts the tendency for the user&#39;s legs to spread or slide off of the sides of the support. It would also be advantageous to provide a support which promotes a tendency to remain in the same position should the user fall asleep. Such a support should be relatively easy to manufacture and must be comfortable to use.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The therapeutic support of the present invention addresses the aforementioned needs in the art. The therapeutic support receives a user&#39;s knees and lower thighs and holds the user&#39;s legs together during a short rest period or for a full night&#39;s sleep, while keeping the lower back and feet flat on the bed surface.  
      One aspect of the invention provides a support for use by an individual when lying on a flat surface, comprising a base having a proximal portion, a distal portion, a right side and a left side, and an apex having a groove therein for supporting both legs behind the knees and side wings to prevent the legs from sliding out of the groove. Typically the base has a generally flat undersurface and is wider than the width of the apex from the right side to the left side and slopes upwardly from the proximal and distal portions to the apex, with the side wings being integral with the support and extending above the level of the groove, and the apex being free of extensions above the height of the side wings. Further, the support typically has a height from the base to the apex adequate to allow a posture that is physiologically neutral.  
      Another aspect of the invention provides a method for relieving lower back pain comprising: (1) laying supine on a substantially flat surface; (2) inserting a support beneath both legs, the support comprising a base having a proximal portion, a distal portion, a right side and a left side, and an apex having a groove therein for supporting both legs behind the knees and side wings to prevent the legs from sliding out of the groove, the base having a generally flat undersurface and being wider than the width of the apex from the right side to the left side and sloping upwardly from the proximal and distal portions to the apex, the side wings being integral with the support and extending above the level of the groove, the apex being free of extensions above the height of the side wings, the support having a height from the base to the apex adequate to allow a posture that is physiologically neutral; (3) keeping the feet in contact with the substantially flat surface; and (4) remaining in the supine position with the support beneath the legs.  
      Another aspect of the invention provides a therapeutic support for use when lying on a substantially flat surface to relieve lower back pain, comprising an apex including a groove configured to support the legs of the user and side wings configured to prevent the user&#39;s legs from sliding out of the groove, and a base including a proximal portion, a distal portion, a right side and a left side, wherein the support promotes a posture in which the vertebrae of the spine are in a physiologically neutral position.  
      The nature and advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated from the following drawings, detailed description and claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with a general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention.  
       FIG. 1  is a front view of one embodiment of the therapeutic support of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the therapeutic support of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an individual using the therapeutic support of the present invention.  
       FIG. 4  is a front view of another embodiment of the therapeutic support of the present invention having a central ridge in the groove. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      “Physiologically neutral” as used herein means that position in which the parts of the body, particularly the vertebrae of the lower spine, the pelvis and the hip joints are in an unstressed position, a position which helps to take stress off of the sciatic nerve and also alleviate and prevent low back pain and sore joints. In this manner, a position of physiological rest can be obtained.  
       FIG. 1  illustrates a front view of one embodiment of the therapeutic support of the present invention, the support  10  including a base  12  with a generally flat undersurface  13 , a right side  14 , and a left side  16 . The support  10  also includes an apex  18  with a groove  20  therein. The apex  18  also has a right side wing  22  and a left side wing  24  on the periphery of the groove  20 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the user&#39;s legs  15 ,  17  typically fit within the groove  20  at the apex  18  of the support  10 . The side wings  22 ,  24  typically prevent the legs  15 ,  17  from sliding laterally out of the groove  20 . The undersurface  13  of the base is typically flat, and the base  12  is typically wider than the width of the apex  18  from the right side  14  to the left side  16  to keep the support  10  from moving or rolling from side to side. The side wings  22 ,  24  are typically integral with the support  10  and extend above the level of the groove  20 . The apex  18  is typically free of any other extensions above the height of the groove  20 , other than the side wings  22 ,  24 .  
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the therapeutic support  10 , illustrating that the base  12  also includes a proximal portion  26  and a distal portion  28 , in addition to the generally flat undersurface  13 . In this view, the left side  16  of the base and the left wing  24  of the apex are facing towards the viewer, with the groove  20  shown in phantom behind the left wing  24 .  
       FIG. 3  illustrates the support  10  when being used by an individual  30 . The base  12  typically has a generally flat undersurface  13  and rests flat on the bed surface  32 , with the proximal portion  26  facing the head of the bed  32  and the distal portion  28  facing the foot of the bed. The proximal  26  and distal  28  portions of the support  10  typically slope upwardly at an angle from the base  12  to the apex  18 . As a non-limiting example, the slope from the base to the apex can be from about 45° to about 85°, typically from about 60° to about 70°, on either side. The slope is intended to provide a cushion beneath the thighs, knees and legs of the user  30 , with the knees bent. The base is also wider between the proximal and distal portions as compared to the apex to inhibit the support  10  from moving or rolling from front to back during use.  
      In use, the user  30  lays supine with his back flat on the substantially flat bed surface  32 . The user  30  then places the support  10  having a base  12  with a generally flat undersurface  13  beneath their legs  15 ,  17 . The user&#39;s legs  15 ,  17  are placed in the groove  20  of the support  10  with the left side  16  of the support of the individual&#39;s left and the proximal portion  26  of the support facing the head of the bed. The user&#39;s feet  34  are placed in a substantially flat position on the bed  32 , with the knees bent and supported within the groove and between the side wings of the support. The user  30  typically remains in this supine position for a predetermined amount of time, keeping the feet  34  in substantial contact with the bed surface  32  with the support  10  beneath the legs  15 ,  17  having bent knees. Typically the user remains in this position for about 10 to about 60 minutes to relieve acute back pain, more typically from about 15 to about 30 minutes. However, the support can also be used for an entire sleep cycle, which can range from about 1 hour to about 12 hours, without adverse affects.  
       FIG. 4  illustrates an alternative embodiment of the support, the support  50  including a base  52  with a flat undersurface  53 , a right side  54  and a left side  56 . The support  50  of  FIG. 4  also includes an apex  58  with a groove  60  therein and a right side wing  62  and a left side wing  64 . However, the groove  60  of this embodiment is dihedral (two-faced) in that it has indentations for both legs  15 ,  17  by including a central ridge  66  in the middle of the groove  60 . The ridge  66  further aids the user to lie with their back and their feet flat on the bed with the support beneath the legs. The ridge  66  inhibits the legs from sliding about within the indentations in the groove  60 .  
      In all embodiments, the base of the support is generally flat so that the support resists rolling on a substantially flat surface. Further, the support is typically wider at the base than at the apex, both from right side to left side and from the proximal to the distal portions, so that the support resists rolling or moving from side to side and from front to back. In one embodiment the base can be wide enough from right to left sides to approximate the width of a single-sized bed. In another embodiment the base can be from about 15 inches to about 50 inches wide, typically from about 16 inches to about 20 inches wide, from right to left sides, so long as the apex is narrower than the base. In one embodiment, from its proximal to distal portions, the base is from about 15 inches to about 50 inches wide, and typically from about 16 inches to about 20 inches wide. As noted above, the slope of the support at the proximal and distal sides is generally at an angle less than 90° from the base to the apex and is intended to provide a cushion beneath the thighs, knees and legs of the user, with the knees bent.  
      The entire support, including the side wings and the groove, typically comprises a soft yet dense viscoelastic material, such as a high resiliency, high density “memory foam” or such similar material. Such a material provides needed support without compromising comfort. The side wings typically extend above the groove from about 1 to about 8 inches, typically from about 3 to about 5 inches. Other than the side wings, the support typically has no other extensions above the height of the groove. In the embodiment having a central ridge in the groove, however, the ridge is below the height of the side wings. The height of the support is generally between about 5 to about 30 inches, typically between about 6 to about 20 inches high, and can be manufactured to fit different sized users. For example, children or small adults will benefit from a shorter base-to-apex height, while taller adults will be more comfortable with taller supports. However, in all instances it is intended for the user to lie with their back and feet substantially flat on the bed.  
      It should, of course, be realized that whenever severe back pain occurs, one should always seek prompt medical diagnosis since the cause of the pain may be due to serious physical injury or ailment, such as broken ribs, torn or cut muscles, tissue or ligaments, kidney problems, herniated or severely degenerated discs, osteoporosis, tumors, etc. In such cases, using the therapeutic support and method herein described may be harmful. Whenever symptoms are due to muscle strain or sprain, it is generally advisable to apply a cold substance such as an ice pack initially to reduce swelling and then to use the present invention. When minor pain is dealt with in its early stages, recovery time is greatly reduced and further escalation to serious back damage may be averted. If someone suffers from osteoporosis (brittle bones), they should not use the present invention without first seeking professional medical advice.  
      While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of embodiments and examples thereof, it is not intended to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.