Footgear with pressure relief zones

Abstract

Footgear with an inner sole (66) having a grid of removable resilient elements to permit removal of selected elements (68) to provide relief to ulcerated or injured areas of the foot. An air bladder (64) may underlie sole (66), preferably with additional cushioning material (40) within the air bladder. A walker (12) with a soft support (20) may be provided with the inner sole within the support. Some of the removal resilient elements may have a higher density or height than others. The footgear may include an adhesively-backed resilient pad (212) to provide additional support to a region. The footgear may include means for reducing shear stress on a bottom surface of the foot. An edema patch (240) may be provided for covering an open space (248) left after a user has removed a removable section from the grid. The edema patch applies pressure to the afflicted zone of the foot (250) preventing fluids from building up.

Description

RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08 / 017,818, which was filed Feb. 16, 1993 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,705. This invention is related to that disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07 / 965,750, filed Oct. 23, 1992, (Docket No. 88-182), entitled “Orthopaedic Support and Method for Providing Semi-Permanent Relief Zones,” assigned to the assignee of this invention.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates to footgear having orthopaedic soles providing pressure relief areas for the feet.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]The problems solved by the present invention were discussed at length in the prior patent application cited above, and the background section of that application will therefore be repeated here.[0004]Support pads are used in a wide variety of applications to provide cushioned support to an injured or otherwise sensitive bodily appendage. Such pads have the dual purpose of (1) providi...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0034]11. An edema patch may be provided for covering an open space left after a user has removed one or more mobile sections from the grid

Problems solved by technology

A particular problem arises when it becomes necessary to provide uneven support across the outer surface of an appendage.

However, these approaches require replacement of the sole for each new patient, or for each new area of the original patient's foot which must be relieved.

Unfortunately, a number of problems arise when diabetes patients, who are prone to severe foot ulcers, attempt to use the Andrews device.

It is well known that diabetes patients are prone to foot ulcers.

With reduced sensation in the foot, the patient is unlikely to feel discomfort when the skin is subject to shear forces during walking, and consequently he or she does not properly adjust his or her gait.

Diabetes patients also experience other extreme difficulties with their feet.

Diabetic patients often undergo an unfortunate evolutionary pattern of anatomical deterioration.

However, the bone structure can quickly deteriorate.

From then on, the areas of the foot that can bear weight are abnormal, their locations are unpredictable, and custom foot accommodations will be required for the remainder of

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