| 摘要 |
A back support for preventing injury to the spinal column that allows a user a limited amount of freedom of rotary motion. The apparatus includes an upper support, which in use extends from a top end approximately at the neck of a user to a bottom end at the thoracic lumbar transition region. At this point, the bottom end of the upper support is connected by way of a limited motion rotary flex joint to a top end of a lower support, which in use extends from the thoracic lumbar transition region to the tail bone or sacrum region. Both the upper and lower supports are contoured to conform with the shape of the spine and surrounding bodily structure to distribute any impact forces, and except for the length and contour, the upper and lower supports are of similar construction. A preferred embodiment of the supports includes a rigid core member extending the length of each support. The bottom end in the core of the top support and top end of the core in the bottom support are connected together through the flex joint. The rotary motion is provided by the flex joint through use of a ball enclosed in a cage. Four pins are anchored in the ball and protrude through holes in the cage. They are then anchored in the core of the upper support. This allows freedom of rotary motion of the ball in the cage, and therefore the upper support relative to the lower support, within the limits set by interference of the pins in the corresponding cage holes.
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