Portable lower-body stretching apparatus

Abstract

A portable, adjustable apparatus for stretching the muscles of the lower body, in particular, the hip flexor and thigh muscles, comprised of a back support, a flexible line, a knee cradle attached to the mid-portion of the flexible line, and a line tensioning device which receives the free end of the line. The line-tensioning device allows a user to perform flexed-knee stretches such as the knee-to-chest stretch without having to manually hold the knee in the stretched position. The position of the back support and line-tensioning device relative to the knee cradle allows the knee to be drawn directly back towards the chest to optimally stretch the hip flexor and thigh muscles.

Description

[0001]This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 61 / 201,521, filed 2008 Dec. 11 by the present inventor.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention is directed to a device used in exercising, and more particularly, to an apparatus for stretching the muscles of the lower body.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Flexibility of the hip and thigh muscles is important for athletes. Flexibility of two muscle groups of the lower body—the illiopsoas (hip flexor) muscles in the front of the thigh and the hamstring muscles in the back of the thigh—is particularly important. Although the hamstring muscles are most effectively stretched when the leg is kept in a straightened or extended position, the hip flexors are most effectively stretched when the leg is flexed (i.e., bent at the knee). Given this fact, an exercise that is most effective at stretching the hip flexors is the knee-to-chest stretch, performed one leg at a time while lying supine (face up) on a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]The present invention is directed to a portable, adjustable apparatus intended for the purpose of assisting a user in performing flexed-leg stretches of the lower limbs. The present invention is comprised of an elongated, curved back support the shape of which is intended to substantially conform to the upper back region of a user's back; a knee cradle in which the user's knee rests; a flexible line such as a rope or strap the mid-portion of which carries the knee cradle and which substantially connects the knee cradle to the back support unit; and a releasable line-tensioning device which is attached to the back support unit and which receives the free end of the flexible line. The present invention is designed to allow a user to perform flexed-knee stretches, such as the supine-position knee-to-chest stretch, without the user having to clasp the knee with the hands for the duration of the stretch. The line-tensioning device allows the user to precisely adjust the stretch to the desired level, and a releasable lever located on the line-tensioning device allows the user to release the stretch easily and quickly. The position of the back support and line-tensioning device relative to the knee cradle provide the correct angle necessary to draw the user's thigh directly towards the chest. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the knee cradle is slidably attached to the flexible line, thereby allowing the user to freely position the knee along the length of the flexible line such that it will keep in direct alignment with the user's chest. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the knee cradle is substantially arcuate in shape to conform to the shape of the user's knee, and contains an interior cushion portion to hold the knee securely and comfortably. The present invention offers the advantages of being lightweight, portable, and easy to put on and take off. Additionally, the present invention is versatile as it can be utilized to perform both relaxed and isometric stretching of the hip flexor and thigh muscles.

Problems solved by technology

The primary disadvantage of performing the knee-to-chest stretch manually is that the subject's arms and hands quickly become fatigued from having to hold the knee in place.

Another disadvantage of performing the knee-to-chest stretch manually is that the knee tends to slip out of the subject's hands.

A third disadvantage of performing the knee-to-chest stretch manually is that the level of the stretch can't be precisely regulated.

Because each of these devices was designed to stretch the leg in the straightened position, they would have limited utility in stretching the hip flexors.

Even if the foot stirrup in these devices were modified to hold the knee, thereby conceivably allowing the device to be used to perform the knee-to-chest stretch, the distance between the pulley and the knee would make the knee unstable, and the position of the pulley relative to the knee wouldn't provide the proper angle for drawing the knee towards the chest.

A further drawback to these devices is that they each require an external anchoring point for the pulley, thereby limiting their portability.

Although these devices offer a greater degree of portability than the prior-mentioned efforts, as these devices were similarly designed to stretch the leg in the extended position, they could not properly perform the knee-to-chest stretch and therefore would have limited utility in stretching the hip flexors.

A further drawback to these devices is that manual effort is required to hold the stretch in place.

While these devices could conceivably be used to perform the knee-to-chest stretch, there are certain features that seriously limit their utility in performing such stretch.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,186 to Calabrese provides no means of assisting the user in holding the stretched leg in place.

In addition, both U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,186 to Calabrese and U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,941 to Scott have complex harnesses that must be worn around the upper body and that would be difficult to wear and take off.

Furthermore, the strap loops that both of these devices' offer for holding of the leg for stretching or exercising are very narrow in width, and thus would be unlikely to securely and comfortably hold a user's knee in the desired position when performing the knee-to-chest stretch.

Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,941 to Scott lacks a means of precisely regulating the level of a stretch.

The simple strap-tightener located on one side of the device would not allow a user to easily, quickly and precisely adjust the stretch to the desired level.

Although these devices could be used to assist an athlete in performing the knee-to-chest stretch, since each of the aforementioned devices requires the athlete to physically hold the ends of the bands in place for the duration of the stretch, no significant benefit of using such devices could be gained over simply performing the stretch manually.

Such efforts would not be helpful in assisting a user in performing flexed-knee stretches, such as the supine-position knee-to-chest stretch.

However, these efforts suffer from certain defects that make them less-than optimal in performing flexed-knee stretches.

Some of the efforts require the user to assume complex harnesses to hold the stretched limb in place, and other devices provide only a narrow strap configured in a loop to hold the knee in place, which would inadequately cradle the knee.

Since the user must manually hold the stretch with the arms, such efforts would offer no substantial benefits over simply performing flexed-knee stretches such as the knee-to-chest stretch with one's hands.

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