Patellofemoral brace
View Patent ↗A patellofemoral brace including a buttress for supporting a wearer's patella is provided. The patellofemoral brace includes an elastic sleeve that is easy to apply to the wearer's leg and easy to remove from the wearer's leg. The sleeve includes distinct bands of material so that end bands are substantially rotationally independent of a central band. The end bands resist translation along and rotation about the wearer's leg. The brace further includes a tensioning strap that lies across the buttress to further support the buttress and the wearer's patella. A portion of the tensioning strap is constructed of a thermoplastic elastomer, so that the strap provides firmer support to the buttress than a fabric strap, but is more comfortable and more evenly supports the buttress than a hard, inelastic strap.
1. A patellofemoral brace for supporting a patella of a wearer's knee, the brace comprising:
a substantially cylindrical sleeve configured to be worn on a wearer's leg and to extend above and below the wearer's knee, the sleeve subdivided into a plurality of circumferential discrete bands configured to extend around a portion of the wearer's leg, and the sleeve including an aperture on an anterior portion thereof, the aperture configured to encircle the wearer's patella when the brace is worn;
a buttress cooperating with the sleeve and configured to apply force to the patella when the brace is worn; and
a tensioning strap cooperating with the sleeve and configured to overlie the buttress to increase the force applied to the patella by the buttress;
wherein the tensioning strap includes a base portion and first and second arms, each of the first and second arms being configured to extend around the sleeve along first and second, respectively, substantially helical paths.
2. The patellofemoral brace of claim 1 , wherein the base portion of the tensioning strap is substantially V-shaped.
3. The patellofemoral brace of claim 2 , wherein a vertex of the base portion extends from a side of the sleeve, and first and second branches of the base portion are configured to extend across a front of the sleeve above and below the knee, respectively, when the brace is worn.
4. The patellofemoral brace of claim 1 , wherein when the arms are wrapped around the sleeve, the base portion overlies the buttress and applies an amount of pressure thereto that varies according to an amount of tension in the strap.
5. The patellofemoral brace of claim 1 , wherein the base portion is constructed of at least one of thermoplastic elastomer, thermoplastic urethane, thermoplastic silicone and rubber.
6. The patellofemoral brace of claim 1 , wherein the buttress at least partially surrounds the aperture.
7. The patellofemoral brace of claim 1 , wherein the buttress comprises an elongate strip of dense material.
8. The patellofemoral brace of claim 7 , wherein the buttress comprises at least one of felt, neoprene foam and ethyl-vinyl acetate.
9. The patellofemoral brace of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of an inner surface of the sleeve is constructed of a material that does not slide easily against human skin.
10. The patellofemoral brace of claim 1 , wherein the sleeve comprises a central band configured to lie proximate the wearer's knee, a proximal spacer band secured to a proximal edge of the central band, a distal spacer band secured to a distal edge of the central band, a proximal anchor band secured to a proximal edge of the proximal spacer band, and a distal anchor band secured to a distal edge of the distal spacer band.
11. The patellofemoral brace of claim 10 , wherein ends of the first and second arms are securable to the proximal and distal anchor bands, respectively.
12. A method of supporting a patella of a wearer's knee, the method comprising the steps of:
applying to the knee a patellofemoral brace, the brace including a substantially cylindrical sleeve extending above and below the wearer's knee, the sleeve subdivided into a plurality of circumferential discrete bands configured to extend around a portion of the wearer's leg, including an anchor band and a central band, and, the sleeve including a buttress cooperating with the sleeve and operatively abutting the patella; and
tightening a tensioning strap around the leg such that a base portion of the strap overlies the buttress and applies force thereto, and first and second arms of the strap extend around the sleeve along first and second, respectively, substantially helical paths, and
wherein applying the brace to a knee comprises positioning the anchor band about a thigh of the wearer and positioning the central band about the wearer's knee.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the base portion is constructed of at least one of a thermoplastic elastomer, thermoplastic urethane, thermoplastic silicone and rubber, and the first and second arms are constructed of a flexible fabric.
14. A patellofemoral brace for supporting a patella of a wearer's knee, the brace comprising:
a substantially cylindrical sleeve configured to be worn on a wearer's leg and to extend above and below the wearer's knee, the sleeve subdivided into a plurality of discrete arcuate bands configured to extend around a portion of the wearer's leg, and the sleeve including an aperture on an anterior portion thereof, the aperture configured to encircle the wearer's patella when the brace is worn;
a buttress cooperating with the sleeve and configured to apply force to the patella when the brace is worn; and
a tensioning strap cooperating with the sleeve and configured to overlie the buttress to increase the force applied to the patella by the buttress;
wherein the tensioning strap includes a base portion and first and second arms, each of the first and second arms being configured to extend around the sleeve along first and second, respectively, substantially helical paths.