Patent ID: 7052479

Claim:
A traction device comprising: a body formed of a flexible and compressible material having a forefoot portion and a lower leg portion, oppositely-disposed anterior and posterior regions, oppositely-disposed lateral regions, a continuous cavity within the forefoot and lower leg portions, an interior surface within the cavity, and an anterior opening located in the anterior region and sized to permit a patient's foot and lower leg to pass therethrough into the cavity, the cavity within the lower leg and forefoot portions being sized and shaped to support respectively a patient's lower leg above a bed on which the patient reclines and the patient's foot extending in an upright position and so that the patient's heel is suspended within the cavity and heel and malleolar pressure are reduced; means for adjustably closing the anterior opening; traction straps extending from the forefoot portion of the body; and means for removably attaching the traction straps to the lateral regions of the body and for enabling the traction straps to be detached from the body while the patient's lower leg and foot remain supported by and within the body; wherein the interior surface of the body provides a sufficiently high friction interface with the patient's lower leg to prevent sliding of the body on the patient's lower leg when the anterior opening is closed by the closing means and a traction tension of 45 N is applied through the traction straps.