WO1999052602A1

WO1999052602A1 - Sitting type lower limb bending exercise equipment

Info

Publication number: WO1999052602A1
Application number: PCT/JP1999/001887
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hiroshi Kasuga
Original assignee: Hiroshi Kasuga
Priority date: 1998-04-09
Filing date: 1999-04-08
Publication date: 1999-10-21
Also published as: CA2292553A1; AU3167399A

Abstract

A sitting type lower limb bending exercise equipment comprising a saddle (12) supported on a body (10) and load generating means (15, 16, 20) for placing a load on both lower limbs, wherein the load generating means (15, 16, 20) comprise pedals (13a, 13b) on which to place both legs respectively with the user seated and hip joints and knee joints bent and a pedal drive mechanism (21) for moving the pedals (13a, 13b) forward from behind the trunk of the user in the diagonally downward direction so that the hip joints and knee joints can be changed almost simultaneously from a flexion position to an extension position and ankle joints from a dorsal flexion position to a plantar flexion position.

Description

Specification

Seated lower extremity flexion exercise equipment

The present invention relates to a lower limb training device, and more particularly to a lower limb flexion and exercise device that gives a hip joint, a knee joint, and an ankle joint the same joint movement as climbing a hill or climbing a stair. Background art

The conventional sitting-type lower limb flexion / extension motion device generally performs the bending at a substantially constant hip joint angle, or changes the hip joint angle with an angle change in the range of the bending position. In addition, in the exercise form, the hip joint angle is generally at the flexion position, and the flexion and extension movement of the hip joint with a small degree of freedom in the range of the flexion position. Become . In addition, as for ankle movements, there are exercises that individually perform plantar flexion and dorsiflexion, and a total exercise of these joints in a long sitting posture in which the hip joint angle is set to the flexion position. Some models have a pedal mounted in front of the saddle, such as a bicycle ergometer, and with this type of exercise equipment, the hip joint angle increases in the direction of extension! ! However, at the start of exercise, the angle of the hip joint at the flexion position does not change from the range of the flexion position.

However, as described above, the conventional seated-type lower-limb flexion exercise device has a substantially constant flexion position during the exercise of the hip joint angle, and even if the hip joint angle changes slightly, Because the exercise is performed within the range, there are the following problems. In other words, when the hip joint is bent, the pelvis rotates at a maximum of 22 ° afterward, and the spine changes linearly with this rotation. This posture is a state in which muscular strength is heavily used to maintain the posture of the back muscle group, so it is inconvenient for the back muscles to immediately receive the transmission of power from the lower limbs. Furthermore, since this posture has little freedom in changing the hip joint angle during exercise, an unexpected moment of force is applied to the abdominal muscles and the back muscles as well as the lower limb joints depending on the magnitude of the load and the position where the load is applied. In other words, belly If the muscles and back muscles are in a substantially contracted state and the load is applied to the hip joint, the pelvis and spine will be overloaded, increasing the risk of injury. Thus, conventional exercise equipment that continuously applies a load in a state in which the hip joint angle is bent is particularly disadvantageous not only for healthy persons but also for persons with weak muscles such as disabled persons and elderly persons.

In addition, the amount of muscle used in exercises in which a load is continuously applied with the hip joint angle bent is limited, and among the muscle groups used in conjunction with the joint exercise, extremely flexible There will be fewer joints. In this state, the muscle groups involved in joint movement are not sufficiently used.

In addition, conventional lower limb joints can be individually raised and lowered using conventional exercise equipment that is used while the hip joint angle is bent.However, in this case, the movement is established as a cooperative movement between the joints. And can cause unexpected stress on other lower limb joints, which can also cause disability. The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and is intended to prevent a person with a weak body such as a disabled person or an elderly person from suffering from a joint or the like (the burden is not increased and the heart rate is unnecessarily increased). A simple sitting-type lower limb bending and stretching exercise device that can perform anti-gravity exercise without difficulty, achieve very large amount of momentum, and effectively promote the recovery of reduced exercise ability. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

In order to achieve the object of the present invention, a seating type lower limb flexion exercise device of the present invention includes a saddle supported by the body and seated by a user, and a load generating means for applying a load to both lower limbs. The load generating means includes: a step portion on which the user sits, and puts both feet while the hip joint and the knee joint are in a flexion position; and the hip joint and the knee joint extend from the flexion position almost simultaneously. In addition to changing the position of the ankle joint from dorsiflexion to plantarflexion, the above-mentioned step unit is moved to the position of the ankle joint, and the drive mechanism for moving the user diagonally downward and forward from the back of the user's trunk. Having prepared Is characterized by:

In the above configuration, it is preferable that the drive mechanism is configured to move the step portion in a clockwise arc shape. In this case, the lowermost position of the step portion during movement is set to be substantially directly below the saddle. However, the hip angle is almost in the extended position. In the case of clockwise movement, the hip and knee joints and the ankle joint will move almost simultaneously from the initial movement stage of this movement, and from the viewpoint of the movement of the lower limb joint group and the lower limb muscle group, climbing slope The movement is almost the same as going up a row or climbing stairs, and it is a form of movement that is performed backwards.

The lower limb flexion exercise device of the present invention having the above-described configuration enables flexion and extension movement equivalent to climbing a hill or climbing stairs, and is used while sitting on a saddle. It only converts to kinetic energy and does not require any force to support the body, so exercise endurance can be provided.

Here, as the most natural bending and stretching movement of the lower limbs for humans, the present invention focuses on a reciprocating form in which a person climbs a hill or climbs a stair backward, and the reason why the present invention is applied will be described below.

In sports medicine, the most efficient healthy exercise is exercise using the most muscle mass within the aerobic exercise threshold. In other words, whole body exercise corresponds to this. However, in anti-gravity motion, when higher potential energy is converted to kinetic energy, it becomes the maximum level of motion, and climbing stairs corresponds to this.

However, when climbing the normal stairs, the flexor muscle, which exerts the strongest strength of the muscles used at the time of initial movement, is not usually used very much, so unless you have a very strong body, extremely strong muscle fatigue occurs. The aerobic threshold is exceeded early. As a result, these exercises tend to be anaerobic and fatigue. However, when climbing the stairs backward, almost all flexor muscles are used from the first movement, so muscle fatigue is minimized and exercise in infinite aerobic conditions is possible as in normal walking.

In this way, when comparing the two types of movement, the case of going up the stairs forward and the case of going backwards, as the momentum, the potential energy is equal to the step Therefore, the converted kinetic energy is the same. Strictly speaking, under the same motion conditions, the amount of motion varies with the motion speed.When climbing the stairs backwards, the motion speed is overwhelmingly greater than when moving forward because it does not fatigue. So the actual momentum can be much higher. From the above, climbing stairs backwards is the highest level of exercise per unit time of any aerobic exercise, and exercise fatigue is almost the same as walking.

In addition, the cause of the decline in motor ability is a large decrease in the learning ability of interneurons in the 侧 angle of the spinal cord, regardless of age. The most effective way to recover this reduced motor ability is to perform a movement that is completely opposite to the daily movement. In other words, the opposite movement means to do the opposite movement with the same reflex bow (under multi-synaptic motion reflex). Therefore, it can be theorized that the backward climbing of the stairs is the highest level of exercise in terms of restoring athletic ability.

Considering the kinematics and kinematics of the flexion and extension movement of the lower limb joint group by the lower limb flexion and exercise apparatus according to the present invention, the hip joint, the knee joint and the ankle joint are simultaneously used by exercise. During exercise, the hip and knee joints are changed from the flexion position to the extension position almost simultaneously during exercise, and the ankle joint is changed from dorsiflexion to plantar flexion, which is the most preferable form of exercise. Further, from the viewpoint of exercise endurance, the present invention solves the problem by adopting a configuration in which a saddle is provided and eliminating the need for a force for supporting the body. Rather, the force of kicking the ground or stairs is considered to be a necessary element for the flexion and extension movements of the lower limb joints, and this is added to the strength by the movement stroke of the lower limb movement and the exercise load from the lower leg. Has been realized.

As described above, the flexion / extension exercise by the lower limb flexion / extension exercise device of the present invention uses a larger number of muscle force groups actively, thereby moving the joint groups respectively. Therefore, the exercise load is not a local exercise load, but an optimal exercise with a good balance on the lower limb muscle group and the joint group. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a use state of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the exercise according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view as seen from the direction of arrow X in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram viewed from the direction of arrow Y in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a view as seen from the direction of arrow Z in FIG. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is used.

A saddle stand 2a is provided which is adjustable in height via a support rod 6 projecting upward from the base 1 in the form of a pedestal, and a user is provided on the saddle stand 2a via a coil spring 2b via a coil spring 2b. The saddle 2 on which H sits is supported. A pair of handles 4a and 4b are provided on the left and right sides of the saddle table 2a to support the trunk of the user H. There is a backrest 5 to support from. A plurality of screw holes 6b are formed in the support rod 6, and the height adjustment screw 6a is inserted into the insertion port 1c and the predetermined support hole 6 is inserted into the predetermined screw hole 6b. The height is adjusted to the height. With this adjustment, the height of the saddle 2 can be adjusted according to the height of the user and the length of the lower limbs.

On both sides of the main body 1, there are provided pedals 3 for placing both feet with the hip joint and the knee joint in a flexed position. The belt 3a is worn, and the foot is fixed to the pedal 3 during exercise. This pedal 3 is changed so that the hip joint and the knee joint are changed from the flexion position to the extension position almost simultaneously, and the ankle joint is changed from the dorsiflexion to the plantar flexion. A pedal drive mechanism 7 that provides a movement for moving the user H obliquely downward and forward from the back of the trunk center l ie is mounted inside the main body 1. The pedal drive mechanism 7 has a mechanism for moving the pedal 3 in a clockwise arc by guiding the pedal 3 through the pedal frame 3b. When one foot is kicked down, the other foot follows the movement of each foot so that it rises to the initial position where it is kicked down next. It has a configuration with a driving source that operates. This mechanism allows the user to appropriately set the exercise stroke and exercise load of the lower limb exercise, and can freely adjust them according to the situation of the user.

Next, the movement according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 will be described based on FIG. With the user H sitting on the saddle 2, the hip joint is set within 45 °, which is a shallow flexion. On the other hand, with the knee joint angle 0 ₂ approximately in the middle position (90. near), the pedal 3 is placed at a position where it naturally hits the foot, and the foot is put on the pedal 3 and the pedal is placed. When the user H steps on the pedal 3 by the pedal drive mechanism 7, which moves the robot 3 in a clockwise circular locus m clockwise from the rear position to the front diagonally below the trunk center He, the user H's hip joint The position changes from the shallow flexion position to the extension position, and the knee joint naturally changes to the extension position at the knee joint angle 0 ₂ . In addition, the ankle moves from dorsiflexion to plantarflexion. In the above series of exercises, the exercise of depressing the pedal 3 is an exercise stroke, and the pedal 3 returns to the initial position and then returns to the original position. Means for returning dynamically may be taken, or the returning may be performed by the force of the transferer. As described above, when the pedal stroke 3 is located at the lowest position, that is, almost immediately below the saddle 2 due to the above-described exercise stroke, the hip joint of the person using the man H changes from the shallow flexion position to the intermediate extension position. This is important in the embodiment. At this time, the knee joint may naturally form an angle corresponding to the muscle strength and the movable range of the joint of the user H, and the knee joint does not necessarily need to be in the approximately extended position. . In the present embodiment, the configuration in which the movement direction of the pedal 3 is clockwise is essential in terms of kinematics. That is, in this embodiment, Bending and stretching exercises actively use more muscle discomfort, and the joints are also configured to actively move. Thus, the load is not locally applied, but is balanced and generally applied to the lower limb muscle tiredness and the lower limb joint group, and becomes optimal. This point will be explained in more detail. For example, when exercise is performed in the counterclockwise direction, as in a bicycle ergometer, even if the pedal is installed at the same position as in the present embodiment, the muscle group used for exercise is centered on the lower leg. The same applies to the dynamic muscle strength. In this case, the thigh is moved accompanyingly, and the muscle movement of the thigh is significantly restricted, and the active force is applied to both the back of the thigh (hamstring group) and the front of the thigh (quadriceps). Therefore, the generation of the force of the intestinal and lumbar constituent muscles necessary for the hip joint flexion / extension exercise is impeded. Furthermore, this motion is motion-analytical], and in effect, it becomes a knee flexion motion, and even if the hip joint is in the extended position, the hip is hardly subjected to a dynamic load during the exercise, and There is no effect as a simultaneous or combined flexion and extension of the hip and knee joints achieved in the morphology.

Further, as another embodiment, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the same, FIG. 5 is a view as viewed from the direction of arrow X in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a view as viewed from the direction of arrow Y in FIG. Fig. 7 shows each figure viewed from the direction of arrow Z in Fig. 4, and the details are described below.

The exercise apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a support 11 and a main body 10 supported by the support 11. A support rod 18 is formed in the main body 10 so as to protrude in a curved manner from a rear portion thereof, and a saddle vertical screw shaft 12 a for adjusting the height position of the saddle 12 is fitted into the support rod 18. In addition, a saddle fixing handle 12b for fixing the saddle 12 at a predetermined height position is provided, whereby the saddle 12 is fixed at a predetermined height position. In addition, a handle 14 for supporting a user's trunk is provided at the front of the main body 10, and a load adjustment handle 1 for adjusting the exercise load is provided at a portion below the handle 14. 5 are provided. By adjusting the load adjusting handle 15, the brake unit 20 is driven via the load adjusting wire 19. Let With the load adjusted in this manner, the pedals 13 a and 13 b provided on both sides of the main body 10 are driven via the pedal drive mechanism 21. In addition, a timer to measure patrol time and a force counter to indicate the amount of exercise are provided in front of the center of the handle so that the user can visually recognize the user while sitting on the saddle.

In the exercise apparatus according to the above embodiment, the pedals 13a and 13b can be moved in a natural manner without forcing the lower limb into an uncomfortable posture while sitting on the saddle 12. . In this embodiment, exercise similar to that of the above embodiment can be performed, and the operation and effect are the same. Here, the same description is omitted because it is duplicated.

In each of the above-described embodiments, a simple mechanism having only a mechanism for kicking down the pedal can be provided, and the device configuration can be simplified.

In each of the embodiments described above, the pedal drive mechanism is a double-swing operation in which both feet are interlocked.For example, a single-pipe that kicks down only one foot or individual feet using a panel Or a configuration in which both feet are kicked simultaneously and a simultaneous sawing operation is performed. In addition, it goes without saying that, as a configuration used for the drive mechanism of the pedal, other known devices used for this kind of exercise equipment, such as weight rubber, wire rope, and air cylinder, can be used. .

Further, a structure may be adopted that enhances the support of the torso, such as a board and a pad for supporting the torso from the front during exercise. Industrial applicability

The sitting-type lower limb bending and stretching exercise device of the present invention can perform bending and stretching movement equivalent to climbing a hill or climbing stairs, and is used in a state of being seated on a saddle, so that it can be used for people with physical disabilities and elderly people. It is also useful for people with weak body in that they can perform anti-gravity exercise without increasing the burden on joints and the like and without increasing the heart rate, and can obtain a large amount of exercise. Also, not only walking ability However, the ability to effectively recover athletic ability is also beneficial. The exercise apparatus of the present invention is realized by a simple mechanism having a mechanism for kicking down the pedal, and the apparatus configuration is extremely simple, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the economical efficiency can be reduced. Is also excellent.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A saddle supported by a wooden body and seated by a user, and a load generating means for applying a load to both lower limbs, the load generating means being seated by the user and having a hip joint and a knee. | A step for placing both feet on the joint with the joint in the flexion position, and the hip and knee joints are changed from the flexion position to the extension position almost simultaneously, and the ankle joint is changed from the dorsiflexion to the plantarflexion. A seating type lower limb flexion and movement device, comprising: a drive mechanism for moving the step unit from the back of the trunk of the user to the front and obliquely downward so as to change the step unit.

2. The seated lower limb flexion exercise device according to claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism moves the step in a clockwise arc shape.