Patent Publication Number: US-4220327-A

Title: Hand-wrist exerciser

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The hand-wrist exerciser is provided for enabling post-traumatic hand and wrist exercises to be carried out in substantially all planes of movement of the wrist, hand and fingers. 
     There are many instances when patients must undergo hand, wrist and finger exercises as a part of post-traumatic treatment. These exercises must be begun as gentle exercises and gradually increased in difficulty as the patient&#39;s ability increases. 
     Various forms of finger, hand and wrist exercisers have been heretofore designed, but few are constructed in a manner to enable gentle initial resistive exercise. Further, many of the previously known exercisers do not include provisions whereby the exercises to be accomplished thereby may be gradually increased in difficulty. 
     Examples of previously known forms of exercisers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,819,081, 2,823,918, 3,442,132 and 3,606,316. 
     These exercisers, however, do not include structure whereby numerous hand, wrist and finger exercises of the gentle resistive type may be initially conducted without requiring alteration of the exerciser between different types of exercises. Accordingly, a need exists for a multi-exercise type of hand, wrist and finger exerciser upon which initial gentle resistive exercises may be carried out and which may be successively adjusted for more streneous exercises as a patient&#39;s ability to exercise increases. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The exerciser of the instant invention has as its primary function to allow a patient to concentrate on all planes of movement of the wrist, hand and fingers with gentle resistance initially offered by the exerciser and with increasing resistance being available by the exerciser as the patient&#39;s ability gradually increases. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide an exerciser in accordance with the preceding object and which may be readily adaptable for use by a patients having different size arms, hands and wrists. 
     A further object of this invention is to provide an exerciser wherein different patients may successively use the same exerciser to carry out exercises of different resistance. 
     A final object of this invention to be specifically enumerated herein is to provided an exerciser in accordance with the preceding objects and which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be of simple construction and easy to use so as to provide a device that will be economically feasible, long lasting and relatively trouble-free in operation. 
     These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the exerciser of the instant invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 2--2 of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the exerciser. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now more specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates the exerciser of the instant invention. The exerciser 10 includes a horizontally elongated rest or base referred to in general by the reference numeral 12 and including opposite side longitudinal edges 14 and 16. A pair of upstanding opposite side walls 18 and 20 project upwardly and are supported from the opposite side marginal portions of the base 12 and the corresponding upper front and rear corners of the side walls 18 and 20 are rigidly interconnected by means of transverse braces 22 and 24 extending and secured therebetween. 
     The base or rest 12 includes a front to rear extending top wall 26 including a transverse upwardly opening partial cylindrical recess 28 extending thereacross between the forward edge portions of the side walls 18 and 20 and the forward end of the top wall 26 forwardly of the recess 28 is inclined forwardly and downwardly as at 30. 
     The side walls 18 and 20 are provided wih pairs of aligned bores 32 formed therethrough and the pairs of aligned bores are spaced vertically apart and longitudinally along the side walls 18 and 20. 
     A plurality of reaches 34 of tensioned elastic members extend between the side walls 18 and 20 and through pairs of aligned bores 32. The reaches 34 are arranged in vertically spaced sets of tensioned elastic reaches with the tensioned reaches of each set spaced apart longitudinally of the rest 12. The tensioned reaches 34 comprise integral portions of a single length of elastic surgical tubing and the reaches 34 may be increased or decreased in number, as desired. 
     As may best be seen from FIG. 2 of the drawings, a small hand towel 36, or the like, may be folded and positioned in the recess 28 and the user&#39;s forearm 38 may rest upon the inclined forward end 30 of the top wall 26 with the back of the wrist 40 of the user disposed on the towel 36 and the hand of the user disposed beneath the reaches 34. 
     Some of the many uses of the exerciser 10 are as follows: 
     (A) Wrist flexion: the forearm is supinated and stabilized on the rest and the patient flexes his wrist against the resistance of the reaches 34. The resistance of the reaches 34 is given at the base of the second metacarpal bone. 
     (B) Flexion of metacarpophalangeal joints of the fingers: The patient uses the same starting position as in (A). However, the patient flexes at the metacarpophalengeal joints, keeping interphalangeal joints extended. Resistance is now offered by the reaches 34 on the volar surface of the proximal row of phalangeas. 
     (C) Flexion of proximal and distal interphalangeal joints of fingers: The patient uses the same starting position as described in exercise (A). The hand is resting on the dorsal surface and the palm is upward and the fingers are extended. The patient flexes the interphalangeal joints with resistance of the reaches 34 given at the volar surface. 
     (D) Flexion of metacarpophalangeal and interphalangeal joints of the thumb: The patent uses the same starting position as described in exercise (A). Resistance is given by the surgical tubing reaches 34 at the volar surface of the thumb. The patient flexes the thumb. 
     (E) Extension of the metacarpophalangeal joints of the thumb: The forearm is stabilized on the forearm resting portion 30 of the top wall 26 in a neutral position with the thumb upward. The patient extends the thumb with resistance of the surgical tubing reaches 34 given on the dorsal surface of the thumb. 
     (F) Wrist extension: The forearm is stabilized in a pronated position on the forearm rest defining forward portion of the top wall 26. The patient extends his wrist with the resistance of the surgical tubing reaches 34 given along the dorsal surface of the hand. 
     (G) Extension of metacarpophalangeal joints of the fingers: The patient uses the same starting position as described in exercise (F). Resistance of the surgical tubing reaches 34 is now given on the dorsal surface of the fingers as the patient extends the fingers. 
     In addition to the above, other wrist and finger exercises may be accomplished. 
     The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.