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US 2007/0185423 A1Published application
Knee Brace and Methods of Use and Modification Thereof
OwnerAlice M. Browninventor
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OwnerAlice M. Browninventor
Estimating the term…
A knee brace, method of use thereof, and modification to an existing knee brace facilitates inducing side loads to a knee joint to align upper and lower leg portions relative to one another, thereby allowing the knee joint to function properly over its full dynamic range of motion. The knee brace, whether as manufactured or modified, acts to apply a lateral shear force to the knee joint through application of opposing lateral forces, with one lateral force being above the knee joint in one direction and the other lateral force being below the knee joint in an opposite direction. The counteracting forces act to shift femoral condyles and tibial condyles of the knee joint back into proper lateral alignment without acting directly on the patella to counteract the effects of the patella femoral syndrome.
A knee brace for use by persons suffering from a patello-femoral condition in which the femur and tibia of a leg of the person are misaligned either medially or laterally relative to a normal condition of alignment, thereby causing abnormal patellar tracking along misaligned grooves of the femur and tibia and, resulting in associated discomfort to the person during movement of the knee joint, said knee brace, comprising:
A method of modifying an existing knee brace having an upper portion for disposal on an upper leg portion spaced above a knee joint and a lower portion for disposal on a lower leg portion spaced below the knee joint such that a patella of the knee joint is free from any direct application of force by the knee brace, the modified knee brace being suitable for correcting a patello-femoral syndrome condition wherein a femur and tibia of a leg of a person are misaligned either medially or laterally relative to a normal condition of alignment, thereby causing abnormal patellar tracking along misaligned grooves of the femur and tibia and, resulting in associated discomfort to the person during movement of the knee joint, the method comprising the steps of:
The method of claim 12 further including attaching a pocket to said one side and attaching said disposing said generally rigid member in said pocket.
A method of correcting patello-femoral syndrome in a knee joint of a leg by realigning femoral condyles of a femur in an upper leg portion above the knee joint with tibial condyles of a tibia in a lower leg portion below the knee joint through the application of a knee brace without imparting a force from the knee brace directly on a patella of the knee joint, comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.