Method and apparatus for monitoring compliance with physical therapy regimes
A system for monitoring use of knee joint flexibility rehabilitation apparatus comprises a knee joint flexibility rehabilitation apparatus, a sensor and a monitor configured to receive and display a signal from the sensor.
1. A knee joint flexibility rehabilitation apparatus comprising:
a tubular strut having a first support foot and a bracket attached thereto, the tubular strut forming a first aperture;
a height-adjustment bar translatably and rotatably disposed in the tubular strut, the height-adjustment bar forming a plurality of second apertures extending through a diameter of the height-adjustment bar;
a support bar fixed substantially perpendicularly to the height-adjustment bar, the support bar being configured to receive a knee joint posterior;
a support strut pivotably connected to the bracket, the support strut having a second support foot attached thereto, the support strut pivotable away from the tubular strut to form an acute angle thereto;
a pin removably disposed in one of the plurality of second apertures to fix the height-adjustment bar against translation in one direction; and
a sensor disposed and configured so as to sense reception of a knee joint posterior and generate a signal indicating such reception.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , the sensor being mounted to the support bar.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , the sensor being mounted to one of the support feet.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the support bar is padded and the sensor is mounted thereto.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 , the sensor being mounted to the tubular strut.
6. A system for knee flexion support, the system comprising:
a knee support bar;
a plurality of pads configured to removably mount to the knee support bar, each pad having an outer diameter different from that of another of said plurality of pads; and
a sensor disposed on at least one of the plurality of pads, the sensor being configured so as to sense reception of a knee joint posterior and generate a signal indicating such reception.
7. The system of claim 6 , wherein plurality of pads comprise a first pad configured to mount to the knee support bar and a second pad configured to nestably mount to the first pad, and the sensor is disposed between the first pad and the second pad.
8. The system of claim 6 , wherein each of the plurality of pads is configured to allow a different range of motion for a knee joint.
9. The system of claim 6 , wherein each of the plurality of pads comprises a color perceptibly different from that of another of said plurality of pads.
10. The system of claim 6 , wherein each of the plurality of pads comprises a range-of-motion marking indicating the approximate range of knee joint motion allowed by said pad.
11. The system of claim 6 , wherein the knee support bar is substantially rigid and substantially straight.
12. The system of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of pads comprises a number of pads in a range of two to twenty pads.
13. The system of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of pads comprises a number of pads in a range of two to twelve pads.
14. The system of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of pads comprises three pads.
15. A knee joint flexibility rehabilitation apparatus comprising:
a tubular strut having a first support foot and a bracket attached thereto, the tubular strut forming a first aperture;
a height-adjustment bar translatably and rotatably disposed in the tubular strut, the height-adjustment bar forming a plurality of second apertures extending through a diameter of the height-adjustment bar;
a support bar fixed substantially perpendicularly to the height-adjustment bar, the support bar being configured to receive a knee joint posterior;
a plurality of pads configured to removably mount to the support bar, each pad having an outer diameter different from that of another of said plurality of pads;
a support strut pivotably connected to the bracket, the support strut having a second support foot attached thereto, the support strut pivotable away from the tubular strut to form an acute angle thereto;
a pin removably disposed in one of the plurality of second apertures to fix the height-adjustment bar against translation in one direction; and
a sensor configured so as to sense reception of a knee joint posterior and generate a signal indicating such reception.
16. The system of claim 15 , wherein plurality of pads comprise a first pad configured to mount to the support bar and a second pad configured to nestably mount to the first pad.
17. The system of claim 15 , wherein each of the plurality of pads is configured to allow a different range of motion for a knee joint.
18. The system of claim 15 , wherein the support bar is substantially rigid and substantially straight.
19. The system of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of pads comprises a number of pads in a range of two to twelve pads.
20. The system of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of pads comprises three pads.