| 摘要 |
A flexible therapeutic anatomical support of form-fitting, compressive, heat-retaining elastic foam material, the supportive, compressive and movement-resisting forces of which are selectively reinforced and relieved, for supporting, protecting and resisting the movement of the muscles and skeletal structure at joints and other limb areas during pre-surgery conditioning, post-trauma, and post-surgery convalescence. A limb-ensheathing sleeve of sufficient length to cover the affected portion of the lib is fabricated from a sheet of foam neoprene material bent around to form a tube and adhesively secured at its seam edges with contact cement. The sleeve is configured according to measurements taken from the actual limb or joint after such measurements have been suitably modified to ensure that the resulting sleeve will provide the desired amount of support and compression. Selective reinforcement of the supportive, compressive and movement-resisting forces of the support sleeve is achieved by the securement of a plurality of elastic-fabric-backed strips of elastic foam material to the inside and outside surfaces of the sleeve by adhesive attachment thereto while the strips are either in a relaxed state or held in tension, as desired. Selective relief is achieved by removing a portion of the support sleeve material over the area of the limb to be relieved and either leaving the relieved area exposed or covering the opening with a patch of elastic-fabric-backed elastic foam material adhesively-attached to the outside surface of the sleeve. The sleeve support can be readily removed by the wearer for cleaning or treatment of the afflicted joint or limb and reapplied, as oftentimes as necessary. |
