Abstract:
An extended coverage leg brace having an up and across upper and down and across lower structure carries a number of extended adjustment areas. The structure provides an extended length moment engagement to reduce pressure on the upper and lower leg of the user, while the adjustment areas facilitate and enable the user to form the brace to a configuration which will better fit the user&#39;s leg shape and topology. The shape of the upper and lower supports in addition to smaller adjustment area loops produces a large open space which avoids over covering the skin of the upper and lower leg to promote air and cooling to significant areas of the upper and lower leg. A custom pad set has raised areas which fit somewhat through the open spaces left in the looping upper and looping lower structural supports which enable the use of lighter weight and a lesser amount of more efficient padding, which also promotes “breathing” adjacent the leg.

Description:
This is a division, of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/177,877 filed Oct. 23, 1998 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,066,110. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an improved, off-the-shelf orthopedic device for the stabilization and control of a human knee joint of the left and or the right leg and having an extended coverage but reduced area and lighter weight structure and which can be custom formed in various zones by the user or technician to closely fit to the upper and lower portions of the leg of a wearer to optimize comfort, utilization time and protection. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The prior art describes many orthopedic devices which attempt to support and stabilize the human knee over a wide range of angular, lateral and rotational displacement of the human leg. In some cases, the device is used by athletes to protect the knee joint. In other instances, an orthopaedic injury or deformity requires a restriction in the flexion and extension or lateral movement of the articulating knee joint to assure that the user will not cause further injury by either extending or flexing beyond a certain angular limit. 
     Since the leg has significant tissue about the femur, the leg brace has to have significant force coverage, at a greater distance therefor above and below the knee in order to properly stabilize the knee joint. Area coverage relatively closer to the knee joint will otherwise experience a more severe bending moment of the brace against the leg which damages the tissues of the leg. This is known as insufficient leverage. To increase leverage, brace manufacturers have lengthened the cuffs. As length increases, so to does the possibility of a mismatch, or gap, between the brace and the leg&#39;s surface. These gaps are typically filled by adding padding or by heating and re-shaping the frame of the brace. 
     Another problem with braces are custom formability. A custom brace can be made along with the use of a mold or other physical measurement from the user. This process can be tedious and very costly if it requires participation of technicians, in addition to the user. A precise fit was only achieved by making the brace by hand on a model of the patient&#39;s leg, or by reheating a re-shapable plastic shell or by adding more and more padding materials to fill voids in the brace shape to compensate for the mismatch between the brace support and the leg. Heating a brace to re-form it requires an additional step in the fitting process. Where a patient&#39;s or user&#39;s leg musculature changes from increased or decreased athletic activity or weight gain or loss, the brace must be brought in for the technician to re-heat and re-fit. This time consuming process requires additional expertise and equipment to perform correctly and efficiently. 
     The addition of padding to try to achieve a custom fit from an off-the-shelf brace was even more of a disaster since more padding needs to be utilized. Padding creates a further deviation from a good fit. The padding can be compressed during utilization of the brace, and the compression “loosens” the effective fit of the brace. Even more importantly, the padding does not help maintain the most minimal profile possible and there will always be unnecessary bulk in the padded areas. 
     In some cases, a close covering fit based upon a mold can be as confining as conventional cuff or an extended solid support. Where solid coverage is used, especially with a reinforcement to make them lighter weight, they are not shapable. Also, custom braces are not user adjustable, in addition to being overly expensive to make. 
     Conventional braces are not customizable beyond a tightening or loosening of the straps holding them in place, and the adding or taking away of padding, or the application of heat to soften the frame for adjustment. This is unfortunate, since the topology of the leg, knee and calf offers ample opportunity for some customizable fit to take advantage of the user&#39;s shape and contour. 
     Even where the confinement problem is not present, a custom formed brace can&#39;t easily or instantly be adjusted instantly for changes in the size of the leg, such as occurs during an injury and long periods of inactivity, or such as might occur as the leg muscles are bulked up with increased athletic activity or injury, or when leg muscles reduce in size due to atrophy, or from normal human weight gain or loss. 
     Another problem with conventional braces is the bulky fittings which may be present to enable engagement of the straps. D ring strap fittings usually depend from fittings which are attached to the cuff through rivets or other fastening structures. Whenever the cuff structures have such extraneous additional structure for fitting the straps, user discomfort is increased from added bulk, and a low profile is impossible to achieve. Such discomfort is answered with more and thicker padding, which further reduces fit and performance. 
     Another problem with braces used during athletic activity is the tendency of the brace to ride down on the leg when the athlete runs. When this problem is approached by tightening the straps, discomfort and restriction of circulation occurs. Even partial downward shifting of the brace interferes with the proper operation of the brace. 
     Another problem with conventional braces is the lack of even compression of the soft tissues of the leg against the internal structure of the bones whose position and movement are to be controlled. As force is applied to a conventional brace, uneven support of the leg is the result. This is particularly the case with a conventional brace which uses full circumference straps since such straps follow the contour of the leg and only contain therefor the volume of the leg at the point at which the strap is located. This does not necessarily maintain original shape as a load is applied. This distortion of the shape can allow the bones to misalign sufficiently to damage the ligaments about the knee. For some designs, a misalignment problem can be worsened by the improper addition of pads to create an appearance and feel of an accurate fit in an unloaded state, but which may compress and allow misalignment and damage under load if the overall design of the conventional brace does not allow for it. 
     What is therefore needed is a light weight brace, having an extended length moment or leverage engagement with the leg, but without providing more skin coverage than necessary, allows for exchange of air or “breathing” to take place within the brace, and importantly enables customization adjustments to be easily performed. The customization adjustments should both take advantage of the topography of the user&#39;s leg, as well as to enable adjustment as the size of the leg changes, either because of increase or decrease in the size of the leg. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The brace of the present invention can be custom formed by the user or technician to closely fit to the upper and lower portions of the leg of a wearer to optimize factors including comfort, utilization time and protection and promote healing. These factors are individually and collectively optimized by a more perfect fit between the structural brace and the surface of the leg. 
     The inventive knee brace has a number of adjustable “contour zones” to quickly permit adjustment of the brace over the widely varying ranges in shape of the human leg, and without heat. This new design allows a quick optimal fit and maintains a very low profile. 
     The design allows the brace the maximum leverage and control by a more exacting fit close to the knee joint, as well as at the uppermost and lowermost edges of the brace. The inventive brace has “contour zones” directly above the knee and below the knee in the form of adjustment members which wrap the leg inwardly from the sidebars of the upper support to a point almost to the center line of the leg and are bendable toward or away from the surface of the leg, the bending to achieve a shape which will withstand normal use. Since the contour zone adjustment members on the upper part of the brace are somewhat elongated shape, the ability to control not only the degree of bending toward and away from the leg, but also variations in the radius and contour of the adjustment member is possible. 
     The material making up the “adjustment zones”, along with the varying sizes of widths between the hinges and uprights along the sides of the user&#39;s leg allow for the closest support by a solid lightweight metal framework. The brace framework circumferentially contacts the leg as close to the knee joint as is practically possible without interfering with the joint&#39;s movement. After proper sizing and adjustment, this framework structure closely contacts the sides as well as the front of the shin and thigh close to the joint without interfering with the knee cap area or the popetiel (behind the knee) area. 
     At upper and lower ends of the brace, four “mold zones” are located at each of the inner and outer corners to adjust for the varying contours of the leg&#39;s surface as well as the general overall varus or valgus (knock-kneed or bow-legged) condition of the user. This allows the brace to follow the angle of the user&#39;s upper leg relative to the lower leg and to conform easily thereto, so as to avoid an area over the length if the brace where a mismatch would cause a corner to “stick out” from or to “dig into” or gouge the user&#39;s leg. 
     The framework has a unique design which, along with its associated strapping, allows each of the upper and lower leg engagement portions to fit exactly over the entire surface of the upper and lower parts of the user&#39;s leg. This close fitting feature minimizes the tendency for the soft tissue to distort by effectively containing and then compressing soft tissues in their original unloaded shape. 
     Where the brace has angular front to back displacement with respect to the straight, non-bending portion of the leg, this undesirable effect is known as “rocking” and has several negative consequences. First it requires even more leg coverage for adequate stability. Second, the upper and lower edges of the brace, especially on the upper portion of the leg can gouge into the leg tissue. Third, to overcome rocking requires a tighter fit thus placing greater restriction on the leg tissues and increasing discomfort. 
     The close fit over the length of each of the upper and lower leg engaging “shells” also keeps the adjacent bone from “rocking”. This can be best understood by picturing a knee brace with a single narrow band crossing the tibia and femur at a distances of about eight inches below and eight inches above the knee. If a rearward force was applied at the knee and the user was putting weight on the leg, there would be a tendency for the bones to pivot or rock on the framework of the brace, which includes the danger of hyper extending the knee joint. Conversely, if it were possible to support the tibia with a wide band across the bones and close the joint and of sufficient length of about ten inches above the knee and about 10 inches below the knee, the same forces could be applied to a frame having greater leverage, and thus the bones would not “rock” but would remain in a stable, corrective relative position. This type of control is enabled by the brace of the present invention since it has an accurate fit in an area close to the joint and at edges farthest from the joint. 
     The brace of the invention can have any number of individually identifiable “contour zones” or “mold zones”. In fact, the brace has a large number of portions of its material which can be formed, bent or adjusted, and the use of the term “zones” is for illustrative purposes and to identify clusters of bendable areas which are more easily formably bent and shaped. 
     A custom pad set has raised areas which fit somewhat through the open spaces left in the extended adjustment members and this permits the use of lighter weight and a lesser amount of more efficient padding, which also enables an extremely low profile of the brace on the leg to be achieved. These raised areas also help maintain pad position within the frame. 
     Additionally, the perfect contour feature of the brace of the invention allows even compression of the soft tissues of the leg against the internal structure of the bones over the length of the brace while position and movement are controlled. As force is applied to the brace of the invention, it tends to keep the leg in its original shape as it compresses the soft tissue evenly. This helps the internal bones of the upper and lower leg to remain in their original positions respective to each other, an important distinction over conventional braces which use full circumference straps since such straps follow the contour of the leg but do not contain the volume of the leg in accord with its original shape as a load is applied. By having an accurate fit of hard shell and minimal padding, the brace of the present invention increases control and leg protection by maintaining shape through even compression of tissues against the bones. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention, its configuration, construction, and operation will be best further described in the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the brace of the invention with a left human leg shown in phantom with straps and with a thin layer of padding in place; 
     FIG. 2 is a top view of the generally flat metal forms of the upper and lower main support with raised portions to accommodate straps as they would appear after a cutting operation prior to forming and complete with holding webs and tabs used to hold the form during shaping; 
     FIG. 3 is an outside and an inside surface view of hinge assembly seen in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 illustrates the adjustment, manually with a pliers tool for facilitating bending which can be done at the corners of the upper and lower main support, at the extended adjustment members, and at the abbreviated adjustment members; 
     FIG. 5 illustrates a thin contour pad set for fittable and perhaps removable attachment to the upper and lower main supports, and inside and outside hinges to give additional comfort to the user; 
     FIG. 6 is a side view of the brace of FIG. 1, and without the rear straps and illustrating a fully extended position; 
     FIG. 7 is a side view of the brace as seen in FIG.  6  and illustrating an angular displacement; and 
     FIG. 8 is an alternative brace in which the hinge is formed integrally with the upper and lower main supports. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A description of the improved brace of the present invention will be best initiated with reference to FIG. 1. A brace  21  has an upper main support  23  having a first vertical side at the right of FIG. 1 and a second vertical side at the left of FIG.  1 . Between the vertical sides, the upper main support has a forward curving upper transition member  24  having a top edge. The material seen in the main structural expanse of brace  21  is preferably coated in a plastic material as by dipping or spraying. Brace  21  has a lower main support  25  also having a first vertical side at the right of FIG. 1 and a second vertical side at the left of FIG.  1 . Between the vertical sides of lower main support  25 , a forward transition member  26  is seen and has a bottom edge. The brace  21  is shown around a human leg  27 , shown in dashed line format. A hinge  29 , located near a first lower end of upper main support  23  and a first upper end of lower main support  25 , may include an upper metal plate  31  and a lower metal plate  33  to facilitate attachment of the hinge  29  to the upper main support  23  and a loewr main support  25 , especially where a strong hinge  29  is required. As will be seen, the use of an integral hinge which joins downwardly extending portions of upper main support  23  and upwardly extending portions of lower main support  25  are also possible. 
     A polymeric cover  35  secures and protects the inner working portion of the hinge  29 . An inner polymeric cover  37  opposes the leg  27  and may be further covered with a softer member by adhesive or hook and loop member attachment. A series of screws  39  attach the hinge  29  to the upper main support  23  and a lower main support  25  through upper metal plate  31  and a lower metal plate  33 . The use of rivets or welding or gluing are equally possible variations to attach hinge  29 . 
     The upper main support  23  extends generally upward from the area where it connects to the upper metal plate  31 , and then forward across the top of the leg  27  and to the other side of leg  27  and downward to a hinge  41 , located adjacent a second lower end of the upper main support  23  and a second upper end of the lower main support  25 . Hinge  41  also has an upper metal plate  43 , and a lower metal plate (indicated but not directly seen in FIG. 1) which is a mirror image of lower metal plate  33 . 
     Immediately above and adjacent the upper metal plate  31 , the upper main support has a first extended member  51  which extends in a direction across the leg  27 , but does not extend past the midpoint of the brace  21 . The first adjustment extended member  51  is somewhat triangular shaped and has a rounded triangular shaped aperture  53 . Other shapes are possible, but the overall shape here was chosen and designed to enable even and adjustable support pressure to be applied to the leg. The overall triangular shape has the most acute angle of the triangular shape of the first adjustment extended member blending into the upper main support  23 , just above the metal plate  31 . 
     Two of the longer sides of the triangular shaped first adjustment extended member  51  extend toward a middle of the upper main support  23  with a lower one of the sides  55  not rising upwardly as sharply as an upper one of the sides  57 . As the sides  55  and  57  of the first adjustment extended member  51  continue to diverge, they are attached to a third side  59  which is seen in FIG. 1 as extending somewhat parallel to the elongate length of the brace  21 , to complete the triangular shape, and completely surround the rounded triangular shaped aperture  53 . 
     The first adjustment extended member  51  can be curvingly bent farther over and down toward the leg  27 , or outward and away from the leg  27 . The side  59  can be twisted about the length of the first adjustment extended member  51 , or curved concave toward the leg  27  or curved convex toward the leg  27 . One advantage of the corner junction between the side  59  and the side  55  is the ability to engage the leg  27  just above the knee to prevent slippage of the brace  21  in the downward direction. The two corners of the first adjustment extended member  51  can be bendably manipulated to engage the leg  27  and derive support from the area above the knee cap, either nearer the center of the leg  27  or farther toward the sides. 
     A thin contoured pad  61  has an outer edge shape which generally follows, but goes beyond the edges of the upper main support  23 , and is seen having a raised area  63  which helps the thin pad  61  remain stationary with respect to the upper main support  23 . Note that the thin custom pad  61  has an outer edge  65  which extends just beyond the outer edge of the first adjustment extended member  51 , to both protect the leg  27  and enable the bendable engagement with the leg  27  above the knee to prevent slippage. 
     Adjacent the hinge  41 , a second adjustment extended member  71  extends forward and in a direction across the leg  27 , but like the first extended member  51  does not extend past the midpoint of the brace  21 . In some cases, an additional strap may connect the second adjustment extended member  71  to the first extended member  51 . The second adjustment extended member  71  has a slightly different shape, which will become more apparent when viewing the metal plate from which it is formed, in that it has a triangular aperture  73  which has a narrower apex of its most acute angle extending farther into its side of the upper main support  23 . Two of the longer sides of the triangular shaped second adjustment extended member  71  extend toward a middle of the upper main support  23  with a lower one of the sides  75  not rising upwardly as sharply as an upper one of the sides  77 , the diverging sides  75  and  77  connected to and terminating at a third side  79  which is seen in FIG. 1 as extending somewhat parallel to the elongate length of the brace  21 , and spaced apart from and somewhat parallel to third side  59  of the first extended adjustment member  51 . 
     The second adjustment extended member  71  can be curvingly bent in the same manner as the first extended adjustment member  51 , and will probably assume a similar overall planar contour as the first adjustment extended member  51 . The thin contoured pad  61  has a raised area  81  which extends partially into the triangular aperture  73 . Hinge  41  has a polymeric cover  83  which is disposed toward polymeric cover  35 . 
     Examining again the upper main support  23 , an opening  85  has a pair of generally straight sides, including a generally horizontal side  87  and generally vertical side  89  with a third curving side  91  completing the triangular enclosure of the opening  85 . Behind opening  85  is seen a raised surface of the thin contoured pad  61 . Side  89  has a raised section  93  which is partially seen above a strap  95 . The raised section  93  is ideally a little wider than the strap  95  and rises away from the leg  27  about the same width as the strap  95 . The clearance can be provided by raised section  93  over a portion of the pad  51  having no special structure for strap clearance, or in the alternative, and as will be shown, specific portions of a pad can have depressed clearance structures especially when the metal is not bent into a raised section, such as section  93 . 
     The strap  95  is typically a loop which is doubled at the back side of the brace  21  and which extends through a similar structure on the other side of the upper main support  23 , only partially seen in FIG. 1 as an opening  97 . 
     The bendability and thus customizability of the upper main support  23 , in addition to the first and second extended adjustment members  51  and  71 , is facilitated at the upper corners of the upper main support. Since it is best seen in FIG. 1, the material around opening  85  will be discussed, and it is essentially identical to the corresponding structures around opening  97 . 
     The main extent of the upper main support  23  between the openings  97  and  85  can be bent gently to form over the leg  27 . The bending can be done with leather grip pliers or vice grip type pliers, or bending irons or on a mandrel or by hand if the manipulator is strong enough. Once the general shape of the leg is matched, the generally horizontal side  87  provides a lesser width to enable easier bending and customized formation. The lesser width and easier formation is structurally situated in a part of the upper main support  23  which is not designed to undergo great stress, but in which close conformity to the leg  27  will complete the comfort and support conformity which might otherwise be present in a custom brace  21 , absent a custom brace&#39;s disadvantages. 
     All of the metal portions of custom brace  21  are preferably covered with a rubber or plastic material which will contribute to wearability, appearance and feel. The rubber or plastic material should be amenable to the use of a tool for adjustment, tolerate the adjustment and yet remain in place as a coating for further wear and or adjustment or it could be bare metal or anodized. 
     The upper corner at the junction of the generally horizontal side  87  and the generally vertical side  89  can be manipulated to insure that both the generally horizontal side  87  and the generally vertical side  89  fit and lie closely adjacent to the leg  27 . The transition from the generally vertical side  89  to the raised section  93  should be generally kept in tact, but in extreme cases it can be adjusted to take account of a thicker or thinner strap  95 . 
     At about the same level as the first and second extended adjustment members  51  and  71 , a second strap  99  is seen inserted through a strap aperture  101  just rearward of the first extended adjustment member  51 . The strap aperture  101  has a raised portion  103  near the opposite edges of the strap aperture  101  which lifts strap  99  away from the leg  27  to allow easy threading, or insertion of the strap  99 . Not seen in FIG. 1 is a similar strap aperture on the other side of the upper main support  23 , although this strap aperture is flat, not raised. 
     Below the hinges  29  and  41 , the plates  33  and  45  (plate  45  not seen in FIG. 1) are attached to the lower main support  25 . In general, the lower main support  25  has a tighter radius curvature to fit over the shin of the lower leg  27 . A third rear strap  107  is seen extending through a strap aperture  109 , and like the straps  95  and  99 , are doubled to form a loop. The strap aperture  109  is bounded by a portion of the lower main support  25  having a raised portion  111  to enable strap  107  to extend rearwardly around the leg  27  at about the same level as the inner surface of the lower main support  25 . 
     Below the third rear strap  107 , a fourth rear strap  113  is seen extending through a lower large aperture  115 , a portion of which is left unconformed to the leg  27 , for FIG. 1 illustrative purposes. The strap  113 , like straps  107 ,  95  and  99 , are doubled to form a loop. A thin contoured pad  117  fits within the lower main support  25 , and has a raised area  119  extending through the lower large aperture  115 , and which matches the shape of the lower large aperture  115  in order to stabilize the pad  117  with respect to the lower main support  25 . To the left of the large opening  115  is a lower large aperture  121 . A portion of the thin contoured pad  117  has a raised area  123  extending through the lower large aperture  121 , also in order to stabilize the pad  117  with respect to the lower main support  25 . 
     The frontal upper portion of the lower main support  25  has a large, extended “U” shaped main curved opening  125  to enable a significant portion of the front of the leg  27  below the knee to be open to the surrounding air. This main curved opening  125  has a narrower width below its top opening before opening wider as it extends downward. 
     On either side of the main curved opening  125 , is an upper large shaped aperture  127  and an upper large shaped aperture  129 , and where a portion N.E  121  of the thin contoured pad  117  has a raised area  131  extending through the large shaped aperture  127 . Rather than have an additional strap aperture like strap aperture  109 , the strap  107  uses the large shaped aperture  129  to engage the other side of the lower main support  25 . The large shaped apertures  127  and  129  define a pair of adjustment members of abbreviated extent as abbreviated adjustment members  133  and  135  opposing each other. Adjustment members  133  and  135  can be adjusted manually or by a manual tool for good fit. Generally, the adjustment members  133  and  135  lift slightly away from the curvature of the lower portion of the leg  27  at sections of the main curved opening  125  which oppose each other at the closest areas of approach. This slight lifting is in order to provide some clearance for a front strap  137 . The front strap  137  is also doubled into a loop, similar to the rear straps  95 ,  99 ,  107 , and  113 . 
     The front strap  137  enables close control of the pressure about the upper shin portion of the lower leg  27  just below the knee. This gives the area of the leg  27  around the main curved opening  125  open non-contacting protection. The open nature of the lower main support  25  enables the strap  137  to control the angle of the right and left sides of the lower main support  25 . A tight strap  137  and relatively looser strap  107  puts the right and left sides of the lower main support  25  closer at the front, putting more pressure on the front of the upper shin. A tight strap  107  and a looser strap  137  enables more pressure to be applied to the lower leg  27  on both sides of the shin. 
     Referring to FIG. 2, a view of the upper main support  23  and lower main support  25  is shown in a flat position after just being, cut, stamped, or laser cut out of a sheet of metal, and before formation of the brace  21  seen in FIG.  1 . The stamping operation initially leaves an upper holding tab  151  and aperture  153 , and middle web  155  and aperture  157 . Dashed lines illustrate the location of the cuts which will be made after the material is further processed, for example by adding a chamfer to sets of threaded apertures  159  and  161 . 
     FIG. 2 illustrates a view of the lower main support  25  is shown in a flat position after just being stamped out of a sheet of metal, and before formation of the brace  21  seen in FIG.  1 . The stamping operation initially leaves an upper middle holding web  181  and aperture  183 , and a lower tab  185  and holding aperture  187 , and may be used to simultaneously form raised portion  111 . Dashed lines illustrate the location of the cuts which will be made after the material is further processed, for example by adding a chamfer to sets of threaded apertures  189  and  191 . 
     After the punching of the upper and lower main supports  23  and  25  seen in FIG. 2, the middle holding webs  155  and  181  will remain in place until the upper and lower main supports  23  and  25  are bent about a mandrel having an axis extending generally parallel to a line between the apertures  153  and  187 , as seen in FIG. 2, or between the apertures  153  and  157  for upper main support  23 , or between apertures  183  and  187  for lower main support  25 . After formation of the general semi-cylindrical form seen in FIG. 1, the tabs  151  and  185  are removed along the dashed line indications of FIG. 2, and the holding webs  155  and  157  are removed also along the dashed line indication of FIG.  2 . The apertures  159 ,  161 ,  189  and  191  may then be threadably tapped to facilitate attachment of the plates  31 ,  33 ,  41  and  45  to attach the hinges  29  and  41 . 
     Referring to FIG. 3, the hinge  29  seen in FIG. 1 is seen first at the left in its outward side view and illustrating a series of three chamfered screw apertures  191  on plate  31  and a series of four chamfered screw apertures  193 . At the right, the inward side view of the hinge  29  is seen. 
     Referring to FIG. 4, the upper corner of the upper main support  23 , including horizontal side  87  and vertical side  93 , as well as third curving side  91  is shown. A pair of pliers  201  can be manipulated by a user  203  to adjust horizontal side  87  and vertical side  93 , and third curving side  91 . 
     Referring to FIG. 5, an expanded and flattened view of the thin contoured pads  61  and  117  as well as a pair of hinge pads  215  and  217 . At the upper left of the pad  61  is seen a raised area  218  not previously seen in FIG. 1, as well as the raised areas  63 ,  81  and  85  previously seen. A series of patches of material  221  which may be one of hook material and loop material are distributed about the pad  61  for engagement with the other of hook material and loop material attached to the back or inside of the brace  21  to be held into place. Also seen at the left side of the pad  61  are a pair of depressions  219  and to facilitate the passage of the straps  95  and  99 , respectively without creating a lump or inner bulge against the leg  27 . 
     The hinge pads  215  and  217  may also have hook and loop material, but given that they may be spaced apart from the leg  27 , they may be glued or adhesive fastened to the polymeric cover  83  on the inside opposing faces of the brace  21 , or attached with hook and loop members. 
     The thin contoured pad  117  is shown in flat folded out position and is also seen as having a series of patches of material  221 . The raised areas  119 ,  123 , and  131  are shown, as well as a raised area  225  which was not seen in FIG. 1. A pair of depressions  229  and  231  are seen at the left side of the pad  117  to facilitate the passage of the straps  107  and  113 , respectively without creating a lump or inner bulge against the leg  27 . 
     An aperture  235  is seen in the pad  117  since the upper portion of the “U” shaped opening of the lower main support  25  is expected to be covered by front strap  137 . A pad web  237  includes a pair of spaced apart guide ribs  239  to help stabilize front strap  137  as it extends between apertures  127  and  129 . 
     Referring to FIG. 6, a side view of the brace  21  seen in FIG. 1 more clearly illustrates the alignment of the openings  85  and  97 ,  53  and  81 , &amp;  115  and  121 . FIG. 7 illustrates the angular movement of the upper main support  23  with respect to the lower main support  25  and moving about an angle α. 
     Referring to FIG. 8, a brace  251  has an upper main support  253  having an integrally formed hinge member  255 , and a lower main support  257  having an integrally formed hinge member  259  which is partially shown behind the hinge member  255 . The hinge members  255  and  259  interfit with each other and enable angular bending of the support  253  with respect to the support  257 . A pair of pins  261  and  263  are displaced in slots, such as slot  265  seen in FIG. 8 to control the relationship of the upper and lower main supports  253  and  257  as they are angularly displaced with respect to each other. 
     While the present invention has been described in terms of a leg brace, one skilled in the art will realize that the structure and techniques of the present invention can be applied to many similar structures. The present invention may be applied in any situation where extending distribution of bending moment is desired, where adjustability of shape is desired, but without having to also provide a constraining confining solid area coverage. 
     Although the invention has been derived with reference to particular illustrative embodiments thereof, many changes and modifications of the invention may become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, included within the patent warranted hereon are all such changes and modifications as may reasonably and properly be included within the scope of this contribution to the art.