| 摘要 |
A knee brace comprises generally U-shaped semi-rigid upper and lower cuffs for extending around the upper and lower leg above and below the knee joint; two pairs of upper and lower support arms extending downwardly and upwardly, respectively, from the upper and lower cuff along opposite sides of the patient's leg; and hinges for pivoting the upper support arms to the lower support arms adjacent lateral and medial sides of the knee joint. The upper and lower cuffs encircle the upper and lower legs above and below the knee joint when the brace is fastened to the leg by upper and lower straps located on the brace remote from the knee joint. The upper cuff has downwardly projecting and inwardly movable leg gripping members for contact with the lateral and medial sides of the upper leg immediately above the bony prominences at the lateral and medial sides of the knee joint. An elastic strap attached to the medial leg gripping member of the upper cuff can be tensioned by wrapping the strap behind the leg and around the rigid support arm on the opposite side of the brace and then using the rigid arm for leverage to tension the strap to pull the medial leg gripping member of the upper cuff into pressure contact with the medial side of the upper leg immediately above the knee joint. This produces a wedging action that suspends the brace on the upper leg. The lower cuff has similar upwardly projecting freely bendable leg gripping members and an elastic strap for similarly applying inward pressure to opposite sides of the leg immediately below the knee joint. The upper and lower cuffs are held in intimate contact for a long length of the upper and lower leg, and this in combination with the wedging action of the upper cuff and the firm contact of the lower cuff above and below the knee joint prevents rotation and downward slipping of the knee brace during use.
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