WO2004078273A1

WO2004078273A1 - Exercise apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2004078273A1
Application number: PCT/GB2004/000891
Authority: WO
Inventors: Colin Laidlaw
Original assignee: Colin Laidlaw
Priority date: 2003-03-07
Filing date: 2004-03-04
Publication date: 2004-09-16
Also published as: GB0305190D0

Abstract

This invention relates to venous return vascular exercise apparatus. Such apparatus, generally indicated at (10) comprises a pair of base sections (11, 12), which are linked by side bars (13) and each have a location (14) for the ball of a users foot and a pivotable rear footplate (15) for receiving the major portion of the users foot. Means are provided for urging the footplates (15) towards an elevated position so that the user places their respective balls of their feet on the right and left locations (14) and then allows the urging means to lift first one footplate (15) and then the other. As the other footplate lifts, the user is intended to depress the first footplate. A foldable version of the exerciser is described.

Description

Exercise Apparatus

This invention relates to a venous return vascular exercise apparatus. A leg ulcer is a wound occurring in the lower leg, which tends not to heal and is often inflamed. It is not uncommon for people to have ulcers for many years. Leg ulcers are a common problems and tend to affect those that are over forty years old and particularly the elderly and inform population. In western countries, ten adults per thousand are likely to have a chronic leg ulcer at some time or other. The prevalence of active venous ulcers in the United Kingdom is around 1.5 to 1.8 per thousand population and increases to twenty per thousand in the over 80 age group. Venous leg ulcers are a major concern within the health care sector as the cost of treatment is extremely large. In 1998, it is estimated that the National Health Service spent £600 million.

It is known that these ulcers are linked to poor circulation and the applicant has realised that it would be possible to exercise the venous return vascular system, which is contained within the lower leg, from a sitting position, by causing the patient to lift their heel upwards and downwards whilst maintaining the ball of the foot with a fixed surface. This will cause the contraction of the calf muscle and have the effect of compressing the venous return to aid the flow of blood back up to the heart. Thus from one aspect the invention consists in a venous return vascular exercise apparatus including a base for supporting the ball of a user's foots at a location, a footplate pivotally mounted with respect of the location for elevating the user's heel and an uplift device for urging the footplate into an elevated pivoted position with respect to the location. The applicant has particularly appreciated that because the object of the apparatus is to assist and improve the circulation and not, specifically, to exercise the user's muscles, in most cases it is desirable to assist the upward movement of the footplate, rather than to resist downward movement, as would occur, for example, in an exercise stepper machine.

Although a single foot version could be provided, it is preferred that the base defines a pair of side-by-side locations and that there is a respective footplate for each location. In these circumstances it is preferred that the user operates the apparatus in a pedalling like action so that one foot is up, when the other is down.

In the case where there are two footplates, in most embodiments, there will be a respective uplift device for each footplate. The. or each foot plate may at least include a spring as an uplift device and the spring may be located at a footplate pivot axis. Adjustment may be provided to determine the working range of the footplate, with it being pre-settable to allow for the patient's level of dexterity. It is envisaged that working footplate maximum angles would range between 30° and 50° for most users, but it will be appreciated that in special cases other angles may be appropriate.

The spring may act against an abutment, which determines the maximum elevation of the footplate. In this case the spring may act against a selected one of a plurality of abutments to provide different maximum elevations of the footplate. The abutments may be formed on a body which can be translated relative to the spring to change the abutment that is engaged and hence the maximum elevation. In the case where there are side-by-side locations, the apparatus may be constructed with two side-by-side base sections each defining a respective location. In this case the sections may be interconnected by at least one element which is slidingly received in each section to allow adjustment of the separation of the sections. Alternatively there may be a telescopic interconnection.

The sections may be hingingly connected to allow one base section to overlie the other in a storage position.

In any of the above constructions the apparatus may include a timing device for providing a visible and/or audible indication of an exercise beat. As has been indicated in any construction the uplift device may be adjustable to provide pre-set maximum elevations for the footplate.

The uplift device may include a resilient chamber beneath each footplate, a fluid connection between the chambers and sufficient fluid in the chambers and the connection whereby depression of one footplate pumps fluid out of its associated chamber into the other chamber to elevate the other footplate.

Although the invention has been defined above it is to be understood that it includes any inventive combination of the features set out above or in the following description.

The invention may be performed in various ways and specific embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view from the front of a first embodiment of venous vascular exercise apparatus;

Figure 2 is a side view of the apparatus in its folded configuration; Figure 3 is an enlarged view from one side of the front of one base section the apparatus of Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 is a view of the interconnection element of the apparatus of Figure 1 ; Figure 5 is a view of the spring and its associated adjustment plate as used with each footplate of the apparatus of Figure 1 ;

Figure 6 is a partially schematic sectional view of a space section and footplate indicating the incorporation of the spring and plate combination Figure 5 into the apparatus; Figure 7 is a front view of an alternative view of the apparatus; and

Figure 8 is a schematic view of yet another embodiment. A venous vascular exercise apparatus is generally indicated at 10 and comprises a pair of base sections 11 , 12, which are linked by side bars 13 and each have a location 14 for the ball of a user's foot and a pivotable rear footplate 15 for receiving the major portion of the user's foot.

The footplates 15 are pivotally mounted with respect to the locations 14 so that they can be moved, as will be described below, between the elevated position shown on the left hand side of Figure 1 and the lowered or flat position shown on the right hand side of Figure 1 on base section 12. Means are provided for urging the footplates 15 towards their elevated position so that in use the user places their respective balls of their feet on the right and left locations 14 and then allows the urging means to lift first one footplate 15 and then the other. As the other footplate lifts, the user is intended to depress the first footplate 15. For convenience of use, a certain degree of resistance will be provided to this depression, but it will be understood, as mentioned above, that this resistance is really only necessary to give the user a feel of control and is not a required part of the exercise.

The separation of the base sections can be adjusted, because, as can be seen in Figure 4, the side adjustment bars are profiled to be slidingly engaged in corresponding tunnels in the base section 12 so that they are a friction fit and the user simply needs to pull the base sections apart to a comfortable separation. As can also be seen in Figure 4, the bars 13 are provided with hinges 16 which enable the base sections 11 , 12 to be folded such that one overlies the other in a storage position, as illustrated in Figure 2. As can be also seen in this figure the base section 11 is formed with a carrying handle 17. This makes the apparatus particularly convenient for use by peripatetic physiotherapists, for example, who wish to take it from one location to another.

Turning now to Figure 3, it will be seen that base section 11 is also provided with a speaker 18 and/or an LED 19. These are connected to a battery operated timing device located in the base section 11 to provide a "beat" for the user to exercise at.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate one particular configuration for the means for urging or uplift device for urging the footplate into its elevated position. Here a pair of torsion springs 20 are arranged side-by-side with one extension 21 engaging an abutment and the other, 22, being located in the body of the footplate. It will be understood that the springs will act in a sense to urge the footplate upwardly about its pivot axis 23. The degree to which this urging takes place depends on the location of the abutment engaged by the extensions 21. In the embodiment an abutment plate 24 is provided, which defines side-by-side abutments 25 to 28, which are spaced progressively longitudinally away from the footplate pivot axis. The further the abutment is away from the pivot axis, the more relieved are the springs 20. This, in the position illustrated in Figure 5 the springs 20 will elevate the footplate to a 50° angle with respect to the base section 11 , 12, whereas in Figure 6, where the extensions 21 engage abutment 28, the footplate will align flat on its base section. The intermediate abutments allow intermediate elevations.

This adjustment can be obtained by translating the plate 24 laterally with respect to the spring extensions 21. In the embodiment this is achieved on base section, by having an upstanding peg 29, which can be used to push the plate back and forth laterally by means of a marked rod the end of which is visible as 29a. It will be understood that other spring configurations and adjustment configurations can be used. For instance a key could be provided for increasing and decreasing the tension within the spring.

Such an arrangement might conveniently be utilised in the embodiment shown in Figure 7, where a single base plate 20 is utilised and a dial 31 is provided for adjusting the height of the footplates 15.

Turning now to Figure 8, each footplate 15 is mounted on the top of a flexible chamber 32 and the chambers 32 are interconnected by a tube 33.

Sufficient fluid is contained in the chambers 32 and tube 33 to enable one chamber 32 to be filled, when the other is empty. As one of the user's feet is depressed, fluid will pass along the tube 33 to the other chamber elevating the other foot. Whilst this construction has some advantages of simplicity, it is harder to provide any adjustment in elevation, although this can be achieved by bleeding fluid into a buffer reservoir.

Claims

1. A venous return vascular exercise apparatus including a base for supporting the ball of a user's foot at a location, a footplate pivotal movable with respect to the location for elevating the user's heel and an uplift device for urging the footplate into an elevated pivoted position with respect to the location.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the base defines a pair of side-by-side locations and wherein there is a respective footplate for each location.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 including a respective uplift device for each footplate.

4. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the claims 1 to 3 wherein the or each uplift device at least includes a spring.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein the spring is located at a footplate pivot axis.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein the spring acts against an abutment which determines the maximum elevation of the footplate.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein the spring can act against a_. selected one of a plurality of abutments to provide different maximum elevations. of the footplate.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein the abutments^' are formed on a body, which can be translated relative to the spring to change the abutment that is engaged.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 or any one of claims 3 to 8 as dependant on claim 2 wherein the base includes two side-by-side base sections each defining a respective location.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein the sections are interconnected by at least one element which is slidingly received in each section to allow adjustment of the separation of the sections.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9 or claim 10 wherein the sections re hingely connected to allow one base section to overlie the other in a storage position.

12. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims including a timing device for providing a visual and/or audible indication of an exercise beat.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the uplift device is adjustable to provide preset maximum elevations for the footplate.

14. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the uplift device includes a resilient chamber beneath each footplate, a fluid connection between the chambers and sufficient fluid in the chambers and the connection whereby depression of one footplate pumps fluid out of its associated chamber into the other chamber to elevate the other footplate.