Heel cord stretching appliance and method

摘要

An elongated rigid legboard is secured to the back of the leg of a patient suffering from a contracture of the heel cord and/or its associated muscles. Straps connected to the legboard hold the knee joint in fully extended position. A footboard pivotally mounted on the legboard is swung upward to engage against the underside of the patient's foot and apply a force tending to swing the foot upward, which thereby applies stretching force to the heel cord to treat the contracture. A ratchet permits upward swinging movement of the footboard relative to the legboard as the force is applied but prevents downward swinging movement of the footboard relative to the legboard when the force is removed so that static tension force continues to be applied to the heel cord.