Disposable, size-adaptable arm sling

A size-adaptable arm sling for supporting an arm from an elbow to a hand comprising a pouch formed by flat, abutting panels constructed of a non-woven mat of fuseable synthetic fibers, the panels forming a bottom, a top and aft and front ends of the pouch, and a seam extending along the aft end and the bottom of the pouch formed by fibers located along the seam which have been fused together, each panel including a multiplicity of spaced-apart elastic strands which extend from the aft end to the front end of the pouch, are secured to fibers of the mat, and have a length in their relaxed state which is substantially less than the length of the panels so that the panels form an undulating surface when the strands are in their relaxed state and the pouch can be lengthened by stretching it in its longitudinal direction to adapt its size to the size of an arm to be placed therein, a hand loop attached to sides of the panels facing each other, the loop being attached to the panels proximate the bottom and the top of the pouch to define openings between each panel and the hand loop through which a portion of the hand can be extended, the hand loop including a connecting section which extends past the top of the pouch, a strap constructed of a mat of fuseable synthetic fibers connected to each other, the strap having flat sides which are arranged substantially parallel to the panels of the pouch, a first end attached to the panels proximate the aft end of the pouch and a second, free end, the strap including a plurality of substantially parallel, spaced-apart elastic strands which have a length less than a length of the mat of the strap when the strands are in their relaxed state so that the length of the strap is less than a length of the mat of the strap when the strands are in their relaxed state, and a connection between the free end of the strap and the connecting section of the hand loop comprising a button secured to the connecting section and a plurality of longitudinally spaced-apart openings in the strap formed to engage the button so that an effective length of the strap can be adjusted by engaging the button with different openings in the strap, connections between the strap, the panels of the pouch and the hand loop being formed by portions of the fibers in the mat of the pouch, the mat of the strap and the hand loop which are fused together.

A method of supporting an arm of a patient with a size-adaptable arm sling comprising producing an elongated pouch for receiving the arm therein, the pouch having an open top and open front end and a closed bottom and closed aft end and being made of a mat of at least partially fused together synthetic fibers and a multiplicity of spaced-apart, elastic strands attached to the mat and extending in a longitudinal direction of the pouch from the aft end to the front end thereof, the elastic strands having a length when in their relaxed state of no more than about 12 inches, the mat having a length at least about one-third greater than the length of the strands in their relaxed state so that the mat has an undulating surface and is stretchable in a longitudinal direction of the pouch to about the length of the mat, a strap affixed to the aft end of the pouch, a hand loop attached to the pouch adjacent the front end thereof which can be engaged by a portion of the hand, and a releasable connection between a free end of the strap and the pouch adjacent the front end thereof, placing an elbow of the patient's arm into the pouch and engaging the elbow with the closed aft end of the pouch, stretching the pouch in a longitudinal direction by correspondingly elastically lengthening the strands, placing a portion of the patient's hand in the hand loop to thereby lengthen the pouch to correspond to a supported length of the patient's arm, selecting a desired length for the strap for adequately supporting the patient's arm in the sling, closing the connection between the free end of the strap and the pouch, and hanging the strap over the patient's shoulder to thereby support the patient's arm with the arm sling.