Therapeutic stocking

Abstract

A full length stocking comprising a circumferentially elastic boot portion including elastomeric filament containing elastic yarn; a narrow elastic band formed of non-slip elastomeric webbing material; and an attachment portion comprising a single-ply circumferential strip at the top of the boot portion. The band is attached to the strip by over-edge stitching.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to full length therapeutic stockings of the type which include elastomer-containing yarns which exert a compressive force on the leg portion covered by the stocking boot.

Stockings of this type typically have a rather precisely defined and controlled pressure profile in order to effect a predetermined compression of the deep venous system of the leg. Often this predetermined compression profile takes the form of a degree of compression which decreases from the region of the foot to the region of the upper thigh. In certain situations it may be desirable to have a pronounced dip in the pressure profile in certain regions (e.g., around the knee) with a consequent increase in the compressive force in the region immediately above that dip, but with a resumption of the general decline in compressive force from that location above the dip to the region of the upper thigh.

A problem with stockings of the foregoing type has been an undesirable reversal or inversion of this upwardly decreasing pressure profile in the region of the elastic band around the top of the stocking which is customarily provided to properly retain the stocking on the leg. Since such stockings are typically made in, at most, a few sizes, this undesirable pressure on the leg in the region of the elastic retention band is most pronounced when the stockings are used on patients having a thigh circumference near, or even over (i.e., a misfitted stocking application by the nurse), the maximum thigh circumference for which that size stocking was intended. To a large degree this problem has been eliminated by providing an interrupted elastic band with a soft fabric insert between the severed ends of the band. Such a stocking construction is disclosed in Hartigan et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,728,875, issued Apr. 24, 1973.

In stockings without such an insert and, to a much lesser degree, even in stockings with such an insert, the stocking structure in the region where the elastic band is attached to the main body of the stocking is found to often cause, especially with overlarge thighs or misfitted stockings, an actual tourniquet effect or, at least, a possible tourniquet effect indicated by a marking of the skin which is caused by a pronounced bead on the inner stocking surface in the region of attachment of the elastic band to the stocking body. This bead itself may not, for a given patient, produce an actual pressure profile inversion. (The local pressure at the bead is difficult to measure accurately.) The marking, however, is undesirable in itself as it often causes concern in the patient or the physician as to the suspected presence of a dangerous pressure inversion.

In view of the foregoing, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a construction in a stocking of the type described which reduces either marking of the patient's skin or an actual tourniquet effect, or both, in the upper portion of the stocking. It is a further object to provide such an improved stocking which is relatively efficient and inexpensive to manufacture while still achieving the elimination of undesirable compression levels in the upper regions of the stocking.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To achieve these and other object as will more fully appear herein, a full length stocking according to the invention comprises a circumferentially elastic boot portion including elastomeric filament containing elastic yarn and a narrow elastic band formed of non-slip elastomeric webbing material. Also provided is an attachment portion which comprises a single-ply circumferential strip at the top of the boot portion, the band being attached to that strip by over-edge stitching. In preferred embodiments of the invention the strip is integral with the boot portion and is circumferentially elastic including elastomeric filament containing elastic yarn. It is also preferred that the over-edge stitching comprise a two thread merrow seam formed with the aid of a large stitch finger, the thread consisting of bulk yarn or stretch yarn.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description of a particular preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a typical therapeutic stocking;

FIG. 2 is a partially schematic, broken away, enlarged view of a portion of such a therapeutic stocking illustrating a typical prior art construction;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 illustrating a construction according to the present invention, with the stocking in a relaxed state prior to placement on a patient's leg; and

FIG. 4 illustrates the changes which occur in the stocking of FIG. 3 when the stocking is in a stretched condition as, for example, after placement on the patient's leg.

DESCRIPTION OF A PARTICULAR PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, the therapeutic stocking 10 comprises a body or boot portion 12 which typically is circularly knit and includes circumferentially disposed elastic yarns. An elastic band 14 is attached to the upper thigh region 16 by stitching 18.

Referring to the greatly enlarged views of FIGS. 2-4, the circumferentially disposed elastic yarns in the upper thigh region 16 of the boot portion 12 are indicated schematically at 20. The elastic band 14 typically includes an elastic fabric body 22 and a non-slip, grooved elastomer 24 extruded onto the inner surface of the body 22. The stitching 18, 18a is indicated very schematically, the various typical stitches and the preferred over-edge two thread merrow seam 18a used in the present invention being well known, per se, to those skilled in the art.

A prior art construction is illustrated in FIG. 2. An attachment strip 26 comprising the extreme upper portion of the upper thigh region 16 of the stocking body 12 is disposed on the inner surface of the main body 22 of the elastic band 14 and the members 26 and 22 are sewn with stitching (as schematically illustrated in FIG. 2) which passes through the portion of strip 26 abutting the body 22 and, additionally, the portion 28 of strip 26 which curls over toward the wearer's leg. As is well known by those skilled in the art, the curling over of a portion 28 in the sewing of a single-ply strip 26 to the elastic band 14 is unavoidable. The resulting structure, however, was effectively a two-ply welt formed in the strip 26 since that strip 26 was effectively sewn to itself. The result of this conventional placement of the fabric comprising the upper thigh portion 16 of the stocking inside the elastic band 14, as well as the choice of stitch which caused a double penetration of the upper strip 26 of portion 16, was a prominent bead on the inner surface of the stocking around its circumference at the juncture of the boot portion 12 and the elastic band 14. This bead, and possibly the stitching 18 itself can be the source of a tourniquet effect giving a dangerous pressure profile inversion and, at the very least, produces a marking of the patient's skin adjacent the bead which can cause anxiety in patient and physician alike as to the possible presence of a dangerous pressure inversion.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a stocking construction according to the present invention as initially sewn and as stretched under conditions of actual use, respectively. Preparatory to the actual sewing, the extreme upper portion of the strip 26 engages the outer surface of the elastic band 14, while lower regions of the strip 26 bend around to the inner surface of the band 14 so as to simplify the sewing process. As is evident from a comparison of the schematical stitching representations in FIGS. 2 and 3, according to the invention a larger stitch size 18a is employed which, along with the changed orientation of the strip 26 with respect to the elastic band 14, assures a single penetration of the thread through the strip 26 and adequate "play" in the stitching 18a to assure the deformation upon application of the stocking to a ptient as is shown in FIG. 4 and described below.

Referring to FIG. 4, it is apparent that the convoluted shape of the strip 26 as shown in FIG. 3 becomes much flatter in the stretched condition shown in FIG. 4 (but for the inevitable curled-over portion 28 which, according to the invention, bulges toward the outside of the stocking 10 so as to avoid a bead adjacent the patient's skin). In the stretched condition the stitching 18a is represented as more oval in shape and the relationship of the upper thigh portion 16 and the elastic band 14 approaches a true "butt joint" so as to provide a marked improvement in the smoothness of the inner surface of the stocking 10 in the region of the stitching 18a.

While the stitching 18a is shown in a schematic form so as to avoid obscuring the changes which occur between FIGS. 3 and 4, the actual preferred stitch is stitch type 503 (a two thread merrow seam) which is defined in Federal Standard Number 751a of the Federal Standards of Seam Specifications. The actual thread is preferably either a bulky yarn or a stretch yarn,

The larger stitch size which is employed according to the invention (and which is illustrated by a comparison of FIGS. 2 and 3) is important to provide a softer seam which more readily is pulled into a plane (schematically represented by the ovals 18a in FIG. 4) upon the stretching of the stocking. As is well known in the art, the stitch size may be conveniently changed by a change in the "stitch finger" size. The degree of increase in stitch size between a typical prior art construction as shown in FIG. 2 and the construction of FIG. 3 will be evident from the following measurements of thread consumption in forming a seam attaching a 12 inch band 14 to a stocking boot 12: for a typical small stitch finger as previously employed, 5 yards 11 inches of needle thread and 3 yards 161/2 inches of looper thread were consumed; and for large stitch fingers employed in making a stitch such as shown schematically in FIG. 3, 7 yards 8 inches of needle thread and 4 yards 33 inches of looper thread were consumed.

While the accompanying drawings schematically illustrate the elastic yarns 20 as being provided in the strip 26 as well as the remainder of the stocking boot 12, it is to be understood that they may be eliminated in the strip 26 so that the stitching occurs in a relatively inelastic single-ply welt disposed around the upper circumference of the stocking boot 12.

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described in detail, other embodiments are within the scope of the invention and the following claims.

Claims

We claim:

1. A full length therapeutic stocking comprising a circumferentially elastic boot portion including elastomeric filament containing elastic yarn; a narrow elastic band formed of non-slip elastomeric webbing material and having inner and outer surfaces; and an attachment portion comprising a single-ply circumferential strip at the top of said boot portion, said strip having inner and outer surfaces; said band being attached to said strip by over-edge stitching with adjacent portions of said inner surfaces substantially aligned.

2. A stocking as claimed in claim 1 wherein said strip is integral with said boot portion.

3. A stocking as claimed in claim 2 wherein said strip is circumferentially elastic and includes elastomeric filament containing elastic yarn.

4. A stocking as claimed in claim 2 wherein said strip consists of substantially non-elastic yarn.

5. A stocking as claimed in claim 1 wherein said over-edge stitching comprises a two thread merrow seam.

6. A stocking as claimed in claim 5 wherein said thread is a bulk yarn.

7. A stocking as claimed in claim 5 wherein said thread is a stretch yarn.

8. A full length therapeutic stocking comprising a circumferentially elastic boot portion including elastomeric filament containing elastic yarn; a narrow elastic band formed of non-slip elastomeric webbing material; and an attachment portion comprising a single-ply circumferential strip at the top of said boot portion; said band being attached to said strip in a seam formed by loose over-edge stitching whereby a substantial flattening of said seam is produced when it is subjected to only the forces produced by ordinary use of such stockings.

9. A stocking as claimed in claim 8 wherein said over-edge stitching comprises a two thread merrow seam.

10. A full length therapeutic stocking comprising a circumferentially elastic boot portion including elastomeric filament containing elastic yarn, a narrow elastic band formed of non-slip elastomeric webbing material; and an attachment portion comprising a single-ply circumferential strip at the top of said boot portion; said band being attached to said strip by over-edge stitching without overlap of said band and said strip.