Orthotic apparatus useful for treating pain associated with spinal disorders

A corset adapted to be wrapped around a torso of a human body to cause an increase in intra-abdominal pressure and a relief in pain associated with disorders of the spinal column, said corset comprising:

• a back panel which is formed to overlie a lumbar region of the sinal column at the center of the back of the human body;
• a front panel adapted to overlie an abdominal portion of the human body;
• and
• strap means connecting said back panel with said front panel for allowing the back panel and front panel to be uniformly tightened about said torso to cause said increase in intra-abdominal pressure, said strap means comprising a right strap coupling right lateral portions of said back and front panels and a left strap coupling left lateral portions of said back and front panels, each of said right and left straps comprising vertically spaced upper, lower and intermediate belts secured at one end to the respective lateral portion of the front panel and extending rearwardly through retention members fixed at vertically spaced positions on the respective lateral portion of the back panel and then forwardly for joinder at the front panel, said belts being longitudinally extensible through said retention members to permit adjustment of a distance of separation between the respective right lateral portions of the back and front panels and the left lateral portions of the back and front panels, said upper and lower belts in at least one of the left and right straps are coupled such that an increase or decrease in length of the upper belt causes a corresponding decrease or increase in the lower belt.

A corset adapted to be wrapped around a torso of a human body to cause an increase in intra-abdominal pressure and a relief in pain associated with disorders of the spinal column, said corset comprising:

• a back panel which is formed to overlie a lumbar region of the sinal column at the center of the back of the human body;
• a front panel adapted to overlie an abdominal portion of the human body;
• side panels joining said back and front panels;
• a right strap coupling right lateral portions of said back and front panels and a left strap coupling left lateral portions of said back and front panels, each of said right and left straps comprising vertically spaced upper, lower and intermediate belts secured at one end to the respective lateral portion of the front panel and extending rearwardly through retention members fixed at vertically spaced positions on the respective lateral portion of the back panel and then forwardly for joinder at the front panel, said belts being longitudinally extensible through said retention members to permit adjustment of a distance of separation between the respective right lateral portions of the back and front panels and the left lateral portions of the back and front panels, said upper and lower belts in at least one of the left and right straps being coupled such that an increase or decrease in length of the upper belt causes a corresponding decrease or increase in the lower belt, a forward portion of the intermediate belt in each of the left and right straps being coupled with the associated upper and lower belts so that a pulling force exerted along the longitudinal length of the intermediate belt is leveraged and uniformly transferred to said upper and lower belts to cause a circumferential compressive force to be exerted by the corset on the torso which is substantially uniform along the vertical length of the corset.