DE9001371U1 - Aid "Correction sponge for the fingers of the stroke hand with wrist-correcting traction connection to an arm cuff for the prevention and treatment of contractures" - Google Patents

Description

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Description

Corrective sponge for the fingers of the stroke hand with wrist-correcting tension connection to an arm cuff to prevent and treat contractures (» in the following text "K-sponge")

State of the art

An object comparable to the type of invention does not exist. Up to now, support supports ( _e.g. for the armrest of a wheelchair) and arm splints have been used for stroke sufferers, to which the affected arm and hand with the fingers are fixed by fasteners in order to prevent contractures. Because such fixation of the arm including the fingers is not comfortable, it usually leads to the patient letting the arm sink down into the wheelchair due to the armrest. In the resulting position of the arm, wrist and fingers are in the undesirable contracture position, which can also lead to swelling in the area of the stroke hand due to the wrist joint bending, because this can trigger circulatory and metabolic disorders.

Task

The invention specified in the claim is intended to bring the fingers and wrist of the hand affected by apoplexy into the extended position by means of a material that is comfortable to wear, uncomplicated but effective:

a) Immediately after the stroke, the contractures are generally not counteracted in acute hospitals due to a lack of suitable aids, which significantly increases the difficulties for the therapists during follow-up treatments due to the often severe contractures that have occurred. The "K-sponge" could be used very effectively during the respective stay in the acute hospitals, as well as in the transition periods until the follow-up treatment or renal measures to prevent serious contractures in the stroke hand. The "K-sponge" prevents, for example, the stroke hand from going into contracture at night in an uncontrolled manner. During the day it serves as a comfortable bed pad that counteracts contractures, both for the fingers and the wrist.

b) In the Rena centers, a "&kgr;-sponge" is to be used as a correction and therapy aid. It can also be used in addition to the

Find the armrest on the armrest. When the arm is lowered from the armrest, the fingers and wrist with the "K-sponge" do not go into the contracture position.

c) The "K-sponge" is also a help for the post-hospital period for a comfortable positioning of the stroke hand.

Advantages

The "K-sponge" keeps the wrist and fingers stretched, regardless of the position of the arm _, and prevents or reduces contractures and thus possibly also swelling in the area of the hand affected by the stroke. The sponge part first stretches the fingers on the stroke hand and also stretches the wrist through the connection with the arm cuff; the wrist can be hyperextended if therapeutically desired by moving the cuff support.

The "K-sponge" is suitable for accompanying the affected patient from the acute phase of stroke through the subsequent rehabilitation measures and into the post-hospital period as a therapy aid or as an object of daily use.

Par-leguncj of the invention

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated by Figures 1 to 5. They show:

Fig. 1 the front view of the ¹¹ K sponge",

Fig. 2 the side view of the "K-sponge", with the front side facing downwards,

Fig. 3 the bottom view of the "K-sponge",

Fig. 4 the "K-sponge" from above and

Fig. 5 the arm cuff (underside/support side).

In Fig. 1 (1) the finger recesses in the sponge and the thumb fixation block (2) attached under the base are marked.

A sponge-like, skin-friendly, porous but somewhat firmer synthetic material has proven to be suitable for the "K-sponge".

Fig. 2 clearly shows that the upper part (1) does not have to be as large as the K-sponge base (2) for optical/cosmetic reasons; this does not affect the effectiveness of the application.

The position of the fingers in the sponge cavities can be seen in Fig. 3 (1) from the bottom view; the fingers are in a relaxed, spread position. The thumb is positioned below the bottom in the fixation block (2), which covers the thumb with a curve.

The hand (3) is also slightly recessed into the "K-sponge" and results in a favorable pulling effect for correcting the wrist from the connection between the sponge part and the arm cuff.

In order to bring the thumb into a good position and also to achieve a safe and comfortable positioning of the fingers overall, the hand should be inserted into the sponge, sloping slightly towards the inside, until the bottom edge< ^J between the thumb and the index finger (4) located under the sponge reaches all the way into the space between the fingers.

The production of ¹¹ K-sponges of different sizes and shapes is not necessary; hollows (1) can be made in the K-sponge to accommodate maximum finger thickness. The pull connection to the arm cuff can be individually adjusted/applied using the variable Velcro fastener.

The bottom of the "K-sponge" (3) is slightly curved to match the natural shape of the hand.

The "K-sponge" consists of two parts; the sponge part (Fig. 4) which corrects the position of the fingers and has an attached connection device for the arm cuff, and the ^arm cuff (Fig. 5) which is to be placed above the wrist. Both parts can be connected in various ways using the connection attachment (Fig. 4(1) and 2) (material: leather strip or strong elastic band).

Fig. 4 shows the "K-sponge" from above with the wrist-correcting tension connection (1), which ends with the support part (2) for the connection to the arm cuff. The support side is covered with Velcro fasteners (loops).

The arm cuff is shown in Fig. 5; (1) shows the under-

or armrest with fleece-covered Velcro fastening strips (loops) with which the arm cuff can be closed after it has been put on (2); the entire surface is covered with the counter Velcro (fleece).

Claims (1)

The aid "Correction sponge for the fingers of the stroke hand with wrist-correcting traction connection to an arm cuff for the prevention and treatment of contractures" is characterized, that it consists of a separate finger/hand insert and an arm cuff. Both parts can be connected to each other in various ways. A sponge-like, skin-friendly, porous but somewhat firmer synthetic material is suitable as the base material for the finger/hand insert. Velcro should be used as a fastening material and as a covering for the arm cuff. Leather or strong elastic band are suitable materials for the pull connection to the arm cuff.