KNEE BRACE WITH POSTERIOR STRUT
Inventors: Samuel Singer, 125 Timbersprings La.; Jeffrey A. Fried, 499 S. Ben Franklin Rd., both of Indiana, Pa. 15701
Appl. No.: 662,879
Filed: Mar. 1,1991
Int. Cl.s A61F 5/00
U.S. CI 602/16; 602/26
Field of Search 128/80 C, 80 R, 80 F,
128/87 R, 88
References Cited
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FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
2552660 4/1985 France 128/80 C
2581859 11/1986 France 128/80 C
2215213 9/1989 United Kingdom 128/80 C
A knee brace has a rigid posterior strut behind the knee joint in the popliteal area with terminal portions adjacent, but spaced from the lateral and medial sides of the knee. A prophylactic embodiment of the invention has a lateral inferior rigid support member pivoted on the lateral terminal portion of the strut and secured to the leg, and a medial superior rigid support member pivoted on the medial terminal portion of the strut and secured to the thigh. Stiff anterior, generally triangular, cuff members each have one edge secured to one of the rigid support members and an opposite vertex detachably, pivotally secured to the opposite terminal portion of the strut. A functional brace in accordance with the invention has both lateral and medial rigid support members pivoted on the terminal portions on the posterior strut, additional stiff anterior generally triangular cuffs crisscrossing above and below the knee join and stiff posterior cuffs between the pairs of rigid support members. The posterior strut diverts forces applied to either the leg or thigh around and away from the knee joint and into the large muscles in the other limb member. The position of the strut is automatically adjusted by the soft tissue of the thigh and leg during flexion to center the brace and allow for femoral rollback. Flexion and extension can be selectively limited and additional stabilizing devices may be attached to the terminal portions of the rigid posterior strut.
14 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets
