An ankle training device

Abstract

An apparatus for practising balance and improving ankle stability comprises at least one elongate spacer 3-5 that may be stacked, the spacers each comprise an upper face and a lower face. Each upper a

Description

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ankle training device for practising balance, improving ankle stability, and strengthening exercises, in particular a device for a user to practise standing upon; more particularly but not exclusively a device for training balance in context of ice skating. Background and Prior Art In many societies there is an increasing awareness of the importance of balance, in maintaining and demonstrating physical abilities and general wellbeing. Also, many people in many societies enjoy partaking in sports and activities that improve and test balance of participants. For example, many people enjoy ice skating, or similar bladed activities, such as rollerblading. Spending time doing ice skating can be extremely beneficial for balance skills. It can be difficult to practise ice skating, without access to ice, and so it can be difficult to accommodate to the balancing skills needed. This is equally true for people aiming to practice their balancing skills for other purposes. Prior Art US2016 / 0067550 (BREACH et al.) discloses a kit with a pair of items of footwear, each item having a brace that is releasable secured to a wearer’s leg or foot. Summary of the Invention According to the present invention there is provided an ankle training device comprising: a base with a securement means for receiving at least one elongate spacer and a top plate with a connection means to enable the top plate to be arranged atop the at least one spacer that receives a user’s foot; wherein each spacer has an upper face and a lower face with attachment means to attach each spacer to either the securement means or to the attachment means of an adjacent spacer or to the connection means on the top plate. In a preferred embodiment the securement means, connection means and attachment means may each be the same so that different configurations are easily achieved, therefore enhancing ease of use and manufacture. The device is intended for a user to place one foot upon the top plate and thereby balance on one leg upon the top plate, spacers, and base. The user is not fixed to the device and is not expected to wear a boot. In this way a user is encouraged to use their ankle muscles to stabilise their balance, thereby training the muscles to be strong and flexible. In particular this enables a user to activate muscles such as the peroneus longus, peroneus brevis and peroneus tertius, tibialis anterior and posterior in order to develop strength through various ranges of pronation and supination at the ankle joint. The ankle training device of the present invention may improve balance, improve ankle stability, and help users who lack ankle stability which makes them prone to lose balance, wherein there are at least 13 muscles crossing the ankle joint which get activated when using the device, strengthening all of them as the user practices. This is particularly advantages for ice skaters because when practising ice skating the ankle is locked in an ice skating boot, so if ice skaters do not practise strengthening the muscles mentioned, they can become quite weak as there is no chance for muscles to shorten or lengthen when the ankle is locked in the ice skating boot. Therefore the present invention enables ankle training of the required muscles which is particularly helpful for spinning exercises. The base is a rigid portion that is located on the ground in use and to which the at least one spacer and the top plate are attached. The base has a larger footprint that the spacers and top plate to provide a stable base on the ground. Therefore when the device is assembled the user is balancing on the stacked components to provide a stable device for safe training. In a preferred embodiment the base is disc shaped. Ideally the base is formed from a strong durable material such as metal, metal alloy, synthetic plastics, or carbon fibre. An upper face of the base has a securement means for receiving and attaching the lower face of a spacer to the base, or optionally the top plate directly to the base. The securement means are preferably hook and loop means, but may alternatively or additionally be interlocking means, ferromagnetic means or similar. The spacers are elongate portions upon which a user balances one foot upon in use. The foot is arranged along the elongate axis of the spacer so that the foot is supported along its length. The device may be assembled with one or more spacer. The spacers may stack one atop the other to increase the distance from the base and therefore increase the difficulty of balance and stability for a user the greater the number of spacers. In some embodiments of the device the spacers comprise a body in full or in part of resiliently deformable material. In this way a user of the device will place weight on the substantially rigid top plate upon the stack of spacers by standing thereon, and the spacers will move and deform based on the user’s presence and particular position, forcing a user to correct their position if it is not balanced and thereby training the ankle muscles. The top plate is the upper layer that is presented to the sole of a user’s foot. In preferred embodiments the top plate is substantially rigid so that the top plate retains its planar shape, but the elongate spacer(s) is able to deform in response to a user’s position. In this way the user always has a solid surface to receive their foot but the orientation of the top plate changes depending on how the spacer(s) deforms in response to a user’s position. This thereby enhances strength and stability training whilst maintaining safe use. The top plate is formed from a strong durable material such as synthetic plastics, carbon fibre, metal or a metal alloy. A preferred embodiment of the top plate is formed from aluminium. It is appreciated that the thickness of the top plate may vary depending on the material used so that the thickness is sufficient to prevent flexion or bending through the top plate. For example an aluminium top plate may be at least 5mm thick to have the desired strength. In some embodiments the top plate may be formed from layers of material. For example a metal core embedded in a synthetic plastic outer. The top plate may have a textured upper surface to help a user’s foot to grip to the surface through friction. For example the upper surface may have a raised and lowered surface. Alternatively the upper surface may be coated in or formed from a grip enhancing material such as rubber. In some embodiments the top plate may be moulded to reflect the shape of the sole of a user’s foot, for example having an instep region. In a preferred embodiment the base includes a rotation mechanism so that the device can spin whilst a user is balancing upon the device. The user is thereby spinning about an axis of the device and can practise turns or manoeuvres that require a wide range of movement through the ankle that may be used in sport such as ice skating and using edges of the skate blade. In some embodiments the rotation mechanism may have a lock to prevent location so that a user can use the device with or without rotation enabled. For example a sliding pin may be moved from a first position to a second position to prevent rotation. It may be envisaged that for some uses the top plate may be secured directly to the upper surface of the device in some usages, for example so as to practise spinning before adding height by including spacers. It is also appreciated that a user may remove the spacers and top plate from the base and use these components in isolation. In some embodiments of the device the securement means (on the base), connection means (on the top place) and attachment means (on the spacers) comprises hook and loop means, such as Velcro (RTM). The hook and loop means may comprise multiple pads on adjacent connecting faces of the base, spacer, or top plate. Advantageously this provides a strong, reliable means of repeatedly joining and separating parts. In a preferred embodiment the hook and loop means are provided as separate equally spaced pads. In this way the position of the pads may ensure that the base, spacers, and top plate are properly and preferably aligned to ensure that a replicable exercise regime may be followed and injury minimised. In a preferred embodiment of the device each spacer has three spaced apart pads on each face so that the spacers are safely aligned to create a structure through which a user’s weight is distributed when their foot is placed on the device. The base may also have three corresponding pads as the securement means and the top plate may have three corresponding pads for the connecting means. When practicing ice skating the centre of gravity is always somewhere over the extension of the rocker of the blade of an ice skate. The rocker comprises a specific area along the blade, therefore the use of the three individual pads acts allows them to be positioned to replicate where the centre of gravity of the user is placed within that limited small space of the upper surface presented to the user. This avoids allowing a user to end up positioning their centre of gravity in dangerous places over the device, which could increase the risk of a fall and injuries. It may be envisaged that a particular placement of the three pads allows for the user to be able to practice in similar way placing their centre of gravity over the length of what would be the rocker on the blade of a real ice skate. In other embodiments further variation in spacer alignment and balance options may be provided, for example by a single pad extending across the base, spacer, or top plate allowing a plurality of different arrangements in use. It is appreciated that in some embodiments the securement means, connection means and attachment means may have different configurations. For example the base may have a single pad across the surface to allow a user to select a position that may correspond to the spacer size and shape, or to the type of training to be performed. The spacers may each have three equally spaced pads so that the spacers align for optimal connection and safety. The top plate may have a single pad so that the same top plate is more readily suitable to receive any spacer of any shape or size. In some alternative embodiments the device may use different means to connect the parts such as interlocking parts, or ferromagnetic means in addition or the alternative. In preferred embodiments of the device the top plate is rigid and the spacers are resiliently deformable, so as to allow for deformation and variation in the balance through the spacers, but not at the point of contact with the user’s foot, thereby better replicating balancing requirements necessary in ice skating or similar. In some embodiments of the device the top plate has a resiliently deformable upper surface to provide greater friction for the user’s foot or shoe and to provide greater range of movement to a user through their foot and ankle. In preferred embodiments the device is provided with a set of spacers that each have different dimensions so that the spacers can be stacked in decreasing or increasing size from the top plate to the base. In a preferred configuration the spacers are stacked to decrease in size from the top plate to the base to create a decreasing area similar to wearing an ice skate and thereby enhancing difficultly for a user. In this way the top plate is always a suitable size to receive a user’s foot, but the lower spacers are smaller to enable a great range of move through a user’s ankle. In preferred embodiments the footprint of each spacer varies proportionally so that length and wide alter. In preferred embodiments each spacer may vary by 5-15mm width. In preferred embodiments each spacer may vary by 5-15mm length. In some embodiments side walls of the body of the spacers may taper so that one face of the spacer has a larger footprint than a second face of the spacer. According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of assembling the device comprising the steps of: - placing the base on the ground; securing at least one first spacer to the base; connecting a top plate to an upper surface of the top spacer. A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only 5 and with reference to the Figures in which: Brief Description of Figures Figure 1 shows an isometric view of an embodiment of the device according to the present invention with a base including a rotation mechanism; Figure 2 shows a reverse isometric view of the embodiment of the device shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 shows an exploded isometric view of the embodiment of the device shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 shows a reverse exploded isometric view of the embodiment of the device shown in Figure 1; Figure 5 shows a reverse exploded isometric view of the embodiment of the device as shown in Figure 1; Figure 6 shows a reverse isometric view of the embodiment of the device shown in Figure 1, without the base; Figure 7 shows an isometric view of the device as shown in Figure 6; Figure 8A shows a top view of a base; Figure 8B shows a set of three spacers; and Figure 9A, 9B, 9C and 9D show a set of spacers of different sizes. Detailed Description of Figures With reference to the figures there is shown embodiments of the ankle training device 99, 199 for practising balance and improving ankle stability. The ankle training device 199 has a base 100 with a rotation mechanism 2,6,7 and an upper surface with securement means 13 arranged to accept an underside of a spacer 3,4,5. Each spacer 3,4,5 has an upper face ‘A’ and a lower face ‘C’ to either side of a body ‘B’, wherein the lower face ‘C’ in use has an attachment means 41 to secure to the base 100 that is below the spacer 3, 4, 5. A top plate 1 which is arranged upon the spacers 3,4,5 and is stood upon by a user. In the pictured embodiments there are a plurality of spacers 3, 4, 5 that increase in size from the base 100 to the top plate 1. In this way the device is assembled to form a stack of parts and may be used for ankle training which can include spinning balance exercises when the base includes a rotation mechanism as shown in the drawings. The spacers 3,4,5 and top plate 1 may also be removed from the base 100 and be placed directly on the ground or hard surface for use. In particular reference to the pictured embodiment of the device in Figure 6 and Figure 7, the embodiment 99 comprises three stacked spacers 3,4,5, which have three stepped increases in planar dimensions. The spacers 3,4,5 and top plate 1 are combined 99. The spacers 3,4,5 and top plate 1 are substantially rectangular, having rounded corners. Figures 8A and 9B, 9C and 9D each show a set of three spacers 3,4,5 wherein each spacer is of a different size. Each spacer varies in width by 5mm -15mm in width and in length by 5mm-15mm. In a preferred set of three spacers 3, 4, 5 as shown in Figures 9B, 9C and 9D the first spacer 3 is 90mm X 315mm, the second spacer 4 is 80mm X 305mm and the third spacer 5 is 75mm X 295mm. In preferred embodiments each of the spacers is 15mm deep. The material of the body of each spacer is preferably formed from a durable cellular structure such as a firm foam that provides slight deformation when a user is stood on the top plate, to help them improve their balance. An example of a suitable type of closed cell foam is nitrile butadiene rubber foam (NBR foam). A softer foam that degrades easily following application of pressure is not suitable for this use. Likewise a harder foam that does not deform in response to the user would not provide the desired benefits. The spacers 3,4,5 can therefore be stacked one upon the other. In the pictured embodiments the stacked spacers 3,4,5 have a smaller area at the base 100 and a larger area where a user’s foot is placed on the top plate 1 according to user preference or requirement. In the pictured embodiment the more spacers 3,4,5 used the smaller the area of the lowest spacer 5 that secures to the base 100. The pictured spacers 3,4,5 all share a hook and loop means in the form of pads of Velcro (RTM), having hook pads 13 on an upper face and loop pads 41 on a lower face, or vice versa. The base has securement means that are also in the form of hook and loop pads and the top plate has connection means that are also in the form of hook and loop pads. The upper surface 2 of the base 100 has three hook or loop pads 13 (securement means) to receive a spacer 5. The base 100 has rotation mechanism 2,6,7 that is a spinner that enables an upper part of the base to rotate with respect to a lower part of the base. For example the spinner may have an upper surface 2 arranged to rotate on a lower tray 6 by means of a bearing 7 (see Figures 2,3,4,5). The standard bearing 7 (partially visible in Figures 2,3,4,5) sits between the lower tray 6 and upper plate 2. The lower surface of the top plate 1 has three connection means 41 as shown in Figure 5. An example of the dimensions and spacing are shown in Figures 8 and 9. It is appreciated that the pads and the device as a whole maybe made in different sizes. The location of the three pads is centrally on each spacer 3,4,5 with regards to the longitudinal edges. Therefore on smaller spacers the pad is closer to the edge. The pads 13, 41 are the same dimensions and spacing on each spacer 3,4,5 so that when attached to adjacent spacers 3,4,5 each is correctly aligned to be safely connected and suitable to receive a user’s foot. The three pads 13, 41 restrict the length of the possible attachment of the spacers 3,4,5 when placed on the base 100 in order for the user to always have their centre of gravity over what would be the length of the rocker on a real ice skate. In Figures 8A, 8B and 8C the pads are 40mm wide by 65mm long and the pads are spaced by 50mm. In Figures 9A, 9B, 9C and 9D the pads are 19mm wide by 70mm long and the pads are spaced by 55mm. In this way the chosen number of spacers 3,4,5 can be secured to the device by stacking, and the top plate 1 secured thereover, so as to provide a surface for the user’s foot to balance upon. Accordingly the user can also choose to have a wider lower face by using fewer spacers. The height achieved will also be lower. The top plate 1 may be formed in a rigid material such as wood, aluminium, or hard plastic like acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). The upper surface (layer) of the top plate 1 may be provided with an enhanced friction surface, for example a raised and lowered surface such as abrasive paper, or resiliently deformable material such as rubber coating. This top plate 1 is a fixed size, being longer and wider than the longest and widest of the three spacers 3,4,5. In this way a user can choose to use a width at the lower face that suits their training requirements, whereas the uppermost face, being that of the top plate 1, is always the same width and length. The user can then adjust the height and difficulty of the top plate to help train balance and spinning, more specifically working on edges and improving their specific manoeuvres such as a triple turn. The spacers 3,4,5 are formed from a resiliently deformable material such as a closed-5 cellular structure foam or similar, whereby the top plate 1 under the user’s weight will cause the spacers to deform in use, thereby ensuring that the balance training of the user is enhanced as the user will need to accommodate the spacers’ deformation. The user may also be enabled to place the top plate 1 on top of single spacer (any of 10 3,4 or 5), which may be any one of the three sizes, thereby providing balance training at a lower height. Alternatively use of three spacers, with the smallest spacer at the bottom, provides height and a small footprint, thereby demanding greater balance from the user. 15 The invention has been described by way of examples only and it will be appreciated that variation may be made to the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the scope of protection as defined by the claims.

Claims

1. An ankle training comprising: a base with a securement means for receiving at least one elongate spacer and a top plate with a connection means to enable the top plate to be arranged atop the at least one spacer that receives a user’s foot; wherein each spacer has an upper face and a lower face with attachment means to attach each spacer to either the securement means or to the attachment means of an adjacent spacer or to the connection means on the top plate.

2. An ankle training device according to claim 1 wherein the base includes a rotation mechanism.

3. An ankle training device according to claim 1or claim 2 wherein each spacer is formed at least in part from resiliently deformable material.

4. An ankle training device according to any preceding claim wherein the securement means is hook and loop means.

5. An ankle training device according to any preceding claim wherein the attachment means is hook and loop means.

6. An ankle training device according to any preceding claim wherein the attachment means is hook and loop means.

7. An ankle training device according to any preceding claim wherein each spacer has three hook or loop pads on each face.

8. An ankle training device according to claim 7 wherein the hook and loop pads are rectangular and equally spaced apart along the spacer longitudinal axis.

9. An ankle training device according to claim 7 or 8 wherein the hook or loop pads are spaced apart by at least 50mm.

10. An ankle training device according to claim 7,8 or 9 wherein the hook or loop pads are at least 15mm wide and ideally at least 60mm.

11. An ankle training device according to any of claims 8 to 10 wherein the pads are 70mm long and 19mm wide.

12. An ankle training device according to any preceding claim wherein each elongate spacer has a depth of at least 10mm.

13. An ankle training device according to claim 12 when the depth of the elongate spacer is 15mm.

14. An ankle training device according to any preceding claim wherein the elongate spacer is formed from closed cell foam.

15. An ankle training device according to any preceding claim wherein the securement means, attachment means and / or connecting means is an interlocking means that engages with a corresponding interlocking means to connect one part of the device to another.

16. An ankle training device according to any preceding claim wherein the securement means, attachment means and / or connecting means is ferromagnetic.

17. An ankle training device according to any preceding claim wherein the top plate is substantially rigid.

18. An ankle training device according to any preceding claim wherein the top plate has a resiliently deformable upper layer.

19. An ankle training device according to any preceding claim wherein the top plate has a raised and lowered upper surface.

20. An ankle training device according to any preceding claim including at least two spacers wherein the width of a first spacer differs from the width of a second spacer within a range of 5mm-15mm.

21. An ankle training device according to any preceding claim including at least two spacers wherein the length of a first spacer differs from the length of a second spacer within a range of 5mm-15mm length.

22. An ankle training device according to claim 20 or 21 wherein a first larger spacer connects to the base and a second smaller spacer is arranged atop of the first spacer.5 23. A method of assembling the device described in claims 1 to 22 comprising thesteps of:placing the base on the ground;securing at least one first spacer to the base;connecting a top plate to an upper surface of the top spacer.10

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