Patent ID: 8052585

Claim:
A rehabilitation apparatus for enhancing flexibility by controlling stretching of back muscles, said rehabilitation apparatus comprising: an enclosure; a seat cushion attached to said enclosure; a bolster movable along a resistive arc defined between a vertical position and a position below a horizontal plane respectively; a pivot shaft connected to said bolster and rotatably connected to said enclosure; a resistance disc mated to said pivot shaft; a main cable connected to said resistance disc; a load plate; a main pulley assembly guiding said main cable upwardly to said load plate; a plurality of tension springs connected to said load plate for providing an adjustable return force to return said bolster to said vertical position, further comprising: a plurality of fixed resistance springs anchored to said load plate and said enclosure respectively; and, a plurality of adjustable resistance springs anchored to said load plate and said enclosure respectively; a spring support assembly attached to said plurality of tension springs for providing a resistive force against rotation of said bolster; and, a plurality of brake locking assemblies attached to said spring support assembly and said tension springs respectively; wherein said spring support assembly further comprises: a plurality of spring support brackets connected to said enclosure; a pair of fixed spring shafts connected to said spring support brackets and said fixed resistance springs respectively; a spring shaft anchored to said spring support brackets and said adjustable resistance springs respectively; a plurality of pulleys anchored to said enclosure and situated above said adjustable resistance springs respectively; a plurality of return springs anchored to said enclosure and said brake locking assemblies; and, a plurality of adjustable resistance cables anchored to said adjustable resistance springs and routed along said pulleys and anchored to said brake locking assemblies respectively; and, wherein said brake locking assemblies actuate extension of selected ones of said tension springs thereby resulting in a selectable variable force applied to said load plate and subsequently to said pivot shaft and said bolster respectively.