WRIST SUPPORT DEVICE
A wrist support sleeve is adapted to extend over a wearer's hand and wrist from a location below the ends of the fingers up to a position just past the wrist region. The sleeve has an opening for receiving the wearer's thumb. A first portion of the sleeve extends around the lower part and opposite sides of a wearer's hand and wrist and has spaced side edges located in an upper region of the sleeve. An insert panel of a different material to the first sleeve portion is secured between spaced side edges of the first portion, so as to extend across the upper portion of a wearer's hand and wrist when the device is worn. The insert panel material is a strong elastic material which has a higher stiffness than the rest of the sleeve.
1 . A wrist support device, comprising:
a sleeve having opposite open ends and adapted to extend over a wearer's hand and wrist from a location below the ends of the fingers up to a position past the wrist region, the sleeve having an opening for receiving the wearer's thumb;
the sleeve having a first portion for extending around the lower part and opposite sides of a wearer's hand and having spaced side edges located in an upper region of the sleeve, and a second portion comprising an insert panel secured between spaced side edges of the first portion, the insert panel being adapted to extend across the upper portion of a wearer's hand and wrist when the device is worn;
the first portion of the sleeve being formed of a first material and the insert panel being formed of a second material different from the first material, the first material comprising a stretchable fabric material, and the second material comprising a strong elastic material which has a higher stiffness than the first material.
2 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the second material comprises a mixture of fabric and natural or synthetic rubber material.
3 . The device as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the second material comprises a mixture of approximately 70% polyester and 30% synthetic rubber.
4 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first material is a washable fabric.
5 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first material is a mixture of cotton and stretch fiber material.
6 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a moldable cushioning pad mounted in the lower portion of the sleeve at a location that will be beneath the wearer's wrist when the device is worn.
7 . The device as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the pad comprises a pocket formed integrally within said sleeve and filled with a plurality of beads.
8 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the length of the sleeve is in the range from approximately 3.5 to 5 inches (about 9 to 13 cm).
9 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a thumb receiving sleeve extending from the thumb opening.
10 . The device as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the thumb receiving sleeve has a second insert panel of the same material as the second material, the second insert panel extending across the top of a wearer's thumb when wearing the device.