Spreading Bandage For Children Having Dislocated Hip Bones

Abstract

A spreading bandage for patients, especially children, having dislocated hip bones. A rigid U-shaped supporting member is fastened to the back of the patient and has a pair of pivotable thigh supporting members mounted thereon. The thigh supporting members are disposed perpendicular to the body supporting member, and are forced apart outwardly by tension belts or springs mounted thereon. The force exerted by the springs and belts maintain the thighs of the patient in a spread-apart position to cause proper relocation of the hip bones in the body of the patient.

Description

The present invention relates to spreading bandages, and in particular, to thigh spreading bandages for children suffering from hip bone dislocations.

Hip bone dislocation which prevents the upper thigh of one or both legs from spreading outwardly normally, is common in infant children. In such situations, it is necessary to relocate the head of the hip in the acetabulum to prevent the development of walking difficulties later in the child's life. Relocation of the hip must be done carefully to avoid injury to the child, and only controlled force should be exerted when spreading the upper thighs of such a patient apart.

Presently, "spreading pants" are used to hold the upper thighs in a spread-apart position to obtain proper relocation of the hip bone head and the acetabulum. These parts are constructed like diaper pants so as to fit between the legs of the patient and slowly spread his upper thighs outwardly away from his body. Since the pants must be the proper size to fit the child, new pants must be purchased as the child outgrows the old spreading pants. The spreading pants are attached to the child by a belt which is wrapped around his shoulder. To exert a strong force on the upper thighs of the child, the belt must be tightened around the shoulder of the child. The belt compresses the upper torso of the child's body, and if the pressure is applied too long, irreparable damage can be caused to the already dislocated hips. The pants further do not hold the child's legs in a position in which the upper thigh is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the child's body, a position which is preferable since it accelerates the healing process. The spreading pants are also hard to keep clean and, therefore, unhygenic.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a spreading bandage in which a body support member is fastened to the child's body. At least one pivotable strap rod is mounted on the support member and has a free shank which is detachably fastenable to the upper thigh of the child. The body supporting member is preferably a padded cup-shaped tray having fastening belts mounted thereon. The belts are preferably fastened around the body of the child across the stomach. The child's thigh is fastened to the free shank of the pivotable strap rod so that when the shank is pivoted outwardly, the leg is held in the spread-apart position. The shank is retained in this position by a spring.

The strap rod consists of two shanks which are perpendicular to each other so that one of the shanks may be pivoted outwardly into a position which is perpendicular to the body of the child. The healing process is thereby accelerated as previously stated. The desired position of the thigh is maintained by thigh supporting members which are adjustably mounted on the strap rods. In order to retain the strap rods in their spread-apart position, flexible rubber bands or belts may be substituted for the spring described above. The bands are arranged so that the strap rods must move against the force exerted by the belts when they are pivoted from their spread-apart position to their relaxed position. A torsion spring could also be used to achieve the same results.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a spreading bandage for children having dislocated hip bones which slowly and carefully spreads one or both of the thighs of the child to properly relocate the hip bones in the child's body.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a spreading bandage which is constructed so as to accommodate a growing child, which does not require frequent changing and which is hygenic.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a spreading bandage which is simple in design, easy to manufacture, and efficient and reliable in operation.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which disclose several embodiments of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed for the purpose of illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.

In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a spreading bandage constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows the spreading bandage of FIG. 1. attached to the body of a child during use; and

FIG. 3 is a partial enlarged perspective view of one end of the support member of a second embodiment of the invention showing spring means for retaining the legs of the child in a spread-apart position.

Referring to the drawings, cup-shaped supporting member 1 has a U-shaped cross section and is padded on its inside surface with foam rubber 2. The ends of fastening belt 3 are mounted on the outside surface of member 1 for securing the supporting member to the body of the child. The spreading bandage is placed around the back of the child approximately adjacent the kidneys, so that the supporting member may be secured by fastening belt 3 across the stomach of the child. Holders 4 are mounted on the outside ends of supporting member 1 to support pivotable strap rods 5 and 5'. Both of the strap rods consist of two shanks 6 and 7 and 6' and 7' respectively which are perpendicular to each other. Shanks 7 and 7' are pivotable outwardly away from the patient, and carry thigh support members 8 and 8' respectively. The inside surfaces of the thigh support members are padded with foam rubber and are provided with fastening belts 9 and 9' for securing the legs of the child. The belts have perforations which slip over knobs 10 to fasten the belts around the thighs of the child. One end of flexible rubber belts 11 and 11' is mounted on members 8 and 8', and the other end is fastened to knobs 12 affixed to the outside surface of support member 1. Both of the belts are disposed over cylindrical members 13 and 13' which maintain tension on the thigh supporting members and hold members 8 and 8' in a spread-apart position during use.

FIG. 2 shows the supporting members 1 and 8 and 8' attached to the back and upper thighs respectively of a child. The illustration also shows how belts 11 and 11' hold the child's thighs in a spread-apart position. The force exerted by the belts on the legs of the child is variable by changing the aperture which is disposed over knob 12. The force exerted on the child is also dependent on the position of supporting members 8 and 8' on shanks 7 and 7'. The supporting members are thus adjustably mounted on shanks 7 and 7' by means of adjustment screws 13 in order to allow the tension to be varied.

The embodiment disclosed in FIG. 3 shows helical spring 106 which engages strap rods 105 instead of the rubber belts used in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2. The spring engages wall 107 of supporting member 108 and has one end disposed in a slot of screw socket 109 which is rotatable on threads 110 provided on the shank of strap rod 105 to adjust the tension of the spring.

The other side wall 111 of supporting member 108 is provided with a plurality of perforations (not shown) on a circular portion thereof. Disc 112 is affixed to the strap rod 105 adjacent side wall 111, and carries adjustable pin 113 which is slidably disposed in a perforation in wall 111 so that the disc and strap rod 105 are retained in a fixed position. Abutment 114 also is affixed to wall 111 to limit the pivotable movement of shank 115 in the direction of arrow 116, the direction in which strap rod 105 is turned by spring 106.

While only several embodiments have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those persons skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A spreading bandage for patients, especially children, suffering from hip bone dislocation, comprising:

a first support member, for supporting the spreading bandage on the body of the patient;

at least one mounting rod, having at least two shanks disposed perpendicular to each other, pivotably mounted on said first support member so that one of said shanks extends outwardly perpendicular thereto;

at least one second support member, mounted on said outwardly extending shank of said rod, for supporting the thigh of the patient on said mounting rod;

means, affixed to said first and second support members, for fastening said first support member to the body of the patient and said second support member to the thigh of the patient; and

means affixed to said first support member and to said second support member, for exerting a tension force on said second support member so as to pivot said second support member outwardly away from said first support member, whereby the thigh of the patient is maintained under tension in a position perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the body of the patient.

2. The spreading bandage as recited in claim 1, wherein said first support member comprises a rigid, substantially U-shaped member, having padding material affixed to the inside surface thereof for cushioning the engagement of said first support member with the body of the patient.

3. The spreading bandage as recited in claim 2, wherein said second support member comprises a rigid, substantially U-shaped support member, having padding material affixed to the inside surface thereof for cushioning the engagement of said second support member with the thigh of the patient.

4. The spreading bandage as recited in claim 1, wherein said fastening means comprises elongated straps rigidly affixed at one end to said first and second support members having a plurality of apertures provided in the other end thereof, and projecting members, rigidly affixed to said support members, for engaging the apertures provided in said straps and thereby securing said members to the body and thighs of the patient respectively.

5. The spreading bandage as recited in claim 1, wherein said second support member further comprises a cylindrical mounting member affixed thereto slidably disposed over said rod, and screw means threadably engaged through said cylindrical mounting member so as to engage said rod and thereby adjustably mount said second support member on said rod.

6. The spreading bandage as recited in claim 1, wherein said tension exerting means comprises at least one expandable belt.

7. The spreading bandage as recited in claim 1, wherein said tension exerting means comprises at least one spring mounted on said first support supporting member.

8. The spreading bandage as recited in claim 7 further comprising a rotatable cylindrical member coupled to one end of said spring, and threadably engaged on one shank of said rod, for adjusting the torsion of said spring and thereby adjusting the amount of force exerted outwardly on the thighs of the patient.

9. The spreading bandage as recited in claim 8 further comprising rigid, substantially U-shaped, mounting member having apertures disposed in the ends thereof for receiving the shanks of said rod and thereby mounting said rod on said first support member, and abutment means, including a semi-circular rigid element affixed to said rod adjacent the end of said mounting member and an abutment member rigidly affixed on said mounting member adjacent said semi-circular element for engaging said semi-circular element and thereby limiting the outward movement of said rod during use.

10. The spreading bandage as recited in claim 9, wherein said mounting member further comprises a plurality of selectively spaced apertures in one end thereof, adjacent said semi-circular element, and wherein said semicircular element includes an aperture selectively positioned in alignment with said plurality of apertures on said mounting member, and a rigid pin slidably disposed through said aperture and one of said apertures in said mounting member, for fixing the position of said second support member relative to said first support member during use.