Therapeutic Traction Device

This invention relates to therapeutic devices for the human body and particularly to a device for providing traction on a person's spine.

Literally millions of people suffer from back and spinal problems. Much effort and money has been expended in treating and trying to prevent ailments and discomfort of this type, with varying degrees of success. In addition to the discomfort, chronic back ailments cause a great deal of absenteeism from work. Further, many people ultimately require surgery to gain some relief, and some people become permanently incapacitated. In addition to the expense for the treatment of back ailments, there is also the enormous economic loss from people unable to work, as a result of back ailments. Accordingly, a great need exists for any practical improvements in this area.

One commonly employed technique for providing some improvement to spinal problems is to position a rolled towel under a person's neck so that the weight of the head is supported by the neck and so that some traction or elongating or stretching force is applied to the person's spine. This treatment applied for a limited period of time appears to provide relief for some people by relieving the normal vertical load that is applied to a patient's spine while standing or sitting. Related to this, it is understood that the ancient Chinese have used bamboo logs for this purpose. These approaches have their shortcomings and improvements are needed.

Briefly stated, the invention comprises a rigid support to be placed under a person's neck so as to take the load off the head. The device is provided with curved surfaces to smoothly and comfortably distribute the forces on the neck in a manner to provide traction or an elongating force on the person's spine. Preferably the support has a curved groove or recess that is positioned to receive and be aligned with the neck vertebrae so as to provide comfort in that area.

Preferably the support is hollow and is provided with an opening to the interior, together with a closure so that the support forms a container which can be filled with hot water before being placed beneath the person's neck so as to provide a heated traction producing device. The device should normally be used for no more than a limited period of time, such as about the length of time it takes the water to cool. Thus, the container-type support becomes in effect a self timer.

The rigid support has been found to be much more effective than the folded rolled towel technique because of the firmness of the support. While the rigid device is surprisingly comfortable, a degree of additional comfort is provided by placing a layer of fabric over the areas of the support being engaged by the person's neck. This is conveniently accomplished by providing a stretchy-type fabric in a tubular form that can be simply slipped onto either end of the support. The fabric snugly conforms to the shape of the support, and can be conveniently removed and repositioned for cleaning.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the traction device of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the device with a portion of the cover cutaway and with a portion of the container in cross section.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view on line 3--3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating the device in use.

The therapeuctic device of the invention includes a hollow container 10 having an inlet on one end closed by a removable plug 12, and a fabric covering 14 extending over the majority of the container.

The container 10 has a flat bottom wall 16 for resting on a support surface and smoothly curving side walls 17, 18, 19 and 20 and top wall 21. The side walls extend generally vertically and then blend smoothly into the curved upper wall 21. The container includes two bulbous end portions 22 and 23 that have convex or outwardly curved surfaces. These convex portions curve smoothly to a concave central area or portion, which terminates in a shallow concave groove 24 around the midsection of the side and top walls of the container, as best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. The bulbous end portions 22 and 23 include areas that slope towards the central portion and are shaped to smoothly, engage the sides of a person's neck, as may be appreciated from the view of FIG. 2. The shallow central groove is provided to receive spinal processes so as to relieve pressure on the spine.

The top wall 21 and the side walls 19 of the container are smoothly rounded from front to back, as best seen from FIGS. 3 and 4 so as to conform to the back lower portion of a person's head and the portion of a person's body adjoining the neck to the shoulder area.

The container is preferably made of a rigid plastic that provides a desired firm support. Although the device can be used without a cover, it has been found that the fabric cover 14 adds comfort to the feel of the user when the neck is placed in contact with the device. The cover is conveniently made of a stretchy fabric so that it will conform to the container. It is preferably made in a tubular form with an elastic on either end, such that it can be slipped off and on to the container with ease, thereby facilitating cleaning of the cover as needed.

As can be seen from FIG. 4, the height of the device is sufficient to cause the weight of the person's head and neck to be primarily supported on the device. The head can be lightly touching the floor or other support surface, or can be slightly spaced from the support, as desired or as prescribed by a person's doctor. The intent is that the cantilever support of the head provides a stretching or traction action on the person's spine 30, which is the desired effect.

In a preferred form of the invention, the device is about 4 inches in height at the shallow central portion and about 5 inches in height at the peak of the bulbous end portions. The length of the device is preferably about 9 inches. Such dimensions have been found to be adequate to fit most people, but of course, these dimensions may be varied for different size people. Nevertheless, the proportions between the central section and the end portions should preferably be maintained by the above indicated dimensions. That is, the height of the central section is preferably only about 80 to 90% of the height of the bulbous side portions. By making the device a minimum height, it can be conveniently raised as desired by inserting a flat spacer beneath the device.

The shallow central groove is preferably formed on a radius of about 1/2 inch and extends about 3/8 inch in width, as viewed in FIG. 2.

It has been found that heat on the neck also provides some additional therapeutic effect. Thus, the container may be filled with hot water when it is to be used. Most people find that 15 or 20 minutes of use per day provides considerable relief. The hot water is a convenient timer for that purpose in that the water cools considerably after 15 or 20 minutes of use, to indicate this cooling. Some users report a feeling of relaxation that helps then sleep after use of the device. The warmth is also conducive to relaxation.

It has also been found that with hot water a container made of a desired plastic having a wall thickness of about 1/8 inch will remain rigid to properly elevate the head, but will deform slightly to conform to the back of the head and shoulder area.