Fascia massager

Abstract

To provide a massager having a high fascia massaging effect with a base of a plate-like contact part having three projections.SOLUTION: A fascia massager 10 includes a handle part 2 of a size permitting gripping with one hand, and a plate-like contact part 4 having three projections 8a-8c aligned at the tip of the handle part 2. The contact part 4 has a first plate part 6 formed by extending further from the tip of the handle part 2, and a second plate part 8 formed by bending from the tip of the first plate part 6 in the 90 degree direction. The three projections 8a-8c are plate-like projections formed at the tip of the second plate part 8, and are used by moving back and forth in the longitudinal direction of the handle part 2 in a state of pressing the projections 8a-8c onto the skin of the body. When viewing a flat surface comprising a direction arraying the longitudinal direction of the handle part 2 and the three projections 8a-8c in a perpendicular direction, the second plate part 8 is formed in a curve shape swelling to an opposite direction to the handle part 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for massaging the body, such as the head and neck, and particularly to a device suitable for massaging the fascia that envelops muscles. [Background technology]

[0002] Fascia is a three-dimensional, woven connective tissue that encases the organs and tissues of the body, such as muscles, blood vessels, and the head. It is made up of a fibrous part and a matrix part, with the matrix part being jelly-like and rich in water. Fascia has a property of gliding, and if the fascia glides well when the muscles work, force is easily transmitted and each muscle works smoothly. On the other hand, if the fascia does not glide well, the sensory receptors in the fascia will sense it as pain or stiffness.

[0003] The inventor has been developing massagers for improving the gliding properties of fascia (Patent Documents 1 to 3), and these fascia massagers include a handle that is easy to hold in one hand and a plate-shaped contact part with three protrusions at the tip of the handle, and massage is performed by moving the handle back and forth in the longitudinal direction with these protrusions in contact with various parts of the body such as the neck, shoulders, and back. Each of the three protrusions is rounded, and the central protrusion has in common that it protrudes slightly more than the protrusions on either side. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Design Registration No. 1703607 [Patent Document 2] Design Registration No. 1712785 [Patent Document 3] Design Registration No. 1737036 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The inventors worked hard to develop a massager that would provide a high massage effect for the fascia, based on a plate-shaped contact portion having the above-mentioned three protrusions, and discovered that by devising the shape of the contact portion, it was possible to obtain a massager that would provide a high massage effect for the fascia. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] That is, the fascia massage device (10) of the present invention is: A handle (2) large enough to be held in one hand; and a plate-shaped contact portion (4) having three protrusions (8a to 8c) arranged at a tip of the handle portion (2), The contact portion (4) has a first plate portion (6) formed by extending further from the tip of the handle portion (2), and a second plate portion (8) formed by bending 90 degrees from the tip of the first plate portion (6), and the three protrusions (8a to 8c) are plate-shaped protrusions formed at the tip of the second plate portion (8), and the fascia massager (10) is used by moving the protrusions (8a to 8c) back and forth in the longitudinal direction of the handle portion (2) while pressing them against the skin of the body, When viewed perpendicularly to a plane formed by the longitudinal direction of the handle portion (2) and the direction in which the three protrusions (8a to 8c) are arranged, the second plate portion (8) is formed in a curved shape that bulges in the opposite direction to the handle portion (2).

[0007] The radius of curvature (R1) of the curved shape of the second plate portion (8) is preferably 50 mm or more and 200 mm or less, and more preferably 100 mm or more and 150 mm or less.

[0008] Here, the handle portion (2) is plate-shaped with the same thickness as the plate-shaped contact portion (4), and a mark (12) is formed on the surface of the tip portion of the handle portion (2) or on the surface of the first plate portion (6) to indicate the position that receives the pressing force from the tip of the index finger or middle finger of the hand gripping the handle portion (2) when the index finger or middle finger is extended.

[0009] Here, it is preferable that the connection portion between the first plate portion (6) and the second plate portion (8) is bent with a radius of curvature (R2) of 5 mm or more and 20 mm or less.

[0010] Here, it is preferable that the plate thickness (T) of the first plate portion (6) and the second plate portion (8) is 3 mm or more and 8 mm or less.

[0011] Here, it is preferable that the shape of the protrusions (8a to 8c) on the plate surface is a curved shape with a radius of curvature (R3) of 5 mm or more and 15 mm or less.

[0012] Here, with regard to the tip shape of the protrusions (8a to 8c), the shape of a cross section perpendicular to the direction in which the three protrusions (8a to 8c) are arranged is preferably a curved shape with a radius of curvature (R4) of 1.6 mm or more and 5 mm or less, and is greater than half the plate thickness (T) of the first plate portion (6) and the second plate portion (8).

[0013] Here, the fascia massager (10) of the present invention is preferably made of resin and has an integrated shape, and the handle portion (2) has a two-layer structure of a resin plate and a metal plate. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the configuration of the present invention, first, the contact portion (4) is configured to have a first plate portion (6) formed by extending further from the tip of the handle portion (2), and a second plate portion (8) formed by bending 90 degrees from the tip of the first plate portion (6). In addition, the second plate portion (8) is formed in a curved shape that bulges in the opposite direction to the handle portion (2). Therefore, due to the three-dimensional structure consisting of the first plate portion (6) and the second plate portion (8), even though the three protrusions (8a to 8c) of the second plate portion (8) are plate-shaped, it is possible to apply sufficient pressure to the body surface, and the massage action (lightly pressing the skin while moving back and forth slowly and finely without rubbing the skin) is stable, and a massager with a high fascia massage effect can be provided.

[0015] In particular, according to the configuration of the present invention, a mark (12) is formed on the plate-shaped handle (2) or the first plate (6) to indicate the position to press with the index finger or middle finger of the gripping hand, so that the user performing the massage can easily adjust the force with which the protrusions (8a-8c) press against the body surface with the tips of their outstretched fingers using the mark (12) as a guide. This allows the force to be efficiently concentrated on the protrusions (8a-8c) pressing against the body surface, and the fascia located deeper than the skin surface can be directly shaken with an appropriate pressure, resulting in a highly effective massage of the fascia. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a three-dimensional view of a fascia massage device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the radius of curvature R1 of the curved shape of the second plate portion of the fascia massage device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the fascia massager of FIG. 2 placed upside down. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a radius of curvature R3 of the protrusion of the fascia massager. [Diagram 5] 13 is a diagram showing a radius of curvature R2 of a curved shape extending from a first plate portion to a second plate portion of the fascia massage device. FIG. [Figure 6] 13 is an enlarged view showing a radius of curvature R4 of the tip of the protrusion of the fascia massage device. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the fascia massager is used. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the state in which the protrusions of the fascia massage device are pressed against the surface of the body. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] <Configuration of the fascia massager> Hereinafter, a fascia massager according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is an overall view of a fascia massager 10 of this embodiment. The fascia massager 10 is an integrated body consisting of a plate-shaped handle portion 2 that is large enough to be held in one hand and a plate-shaped contact portion 4 of the same thickness that is continuous with the tip of the handle portion 2. The plate width of the contact portion 4 is wider than the plate width of the handle portion 2, and the entire body is made of resin (e.g., ABS resin).

[0018] The contact portion 4 has a first plate portion 6 that extends further from the tip of the handle portion 2, and a second plate portion 8 that is bent 90 degrees from the tip of the first plate portion 6 while maintaining the same plate width. The tip of the second plate portion 8 is formed with three plate-like protrusions 8a to 8c arranged side by side, forming a mountain shape.

[0019] Here, the shape of the second plate portion 8 when observed from a specific direction will be described. As shown in Fig. 2, when viewed from a direction perpendicular to a plane consisting of the longitudinal direction of the handle portion 2 (left and right direction in the figure) and the direction in which the three protrusions 8a to 8c are arranged (up and down direction in the figure), the second plate portion 8 is formed in a curved shape that bulges in the opposite direction to the handle portion 2 with a curvature radius R1. The curvature radius R1 may be 50 mm or more and 200 mm or less, and preferably 100 mm or more and 150 mm or less.

[0020] 3 is a diagram showing the fascia massager 10 of FIG. 2 placed upside down. A mark 12 is formed on the tip of the handle 2 or on the surface of the first plate 6, indicating the position where the user will press the massager 10 with the tip of their index or middle finger when holding the handle 2 and extending the index or middle finger. Alternatively, a mark 12' may be formed on the surface of the first plate 6. Such a mark 12 (12') may be printed on the front, or may be formed as a recess or protrusion. The portion shown by the dotted line on the surface of the handle 2 indicates the range in which an aluminum alloy plate 14 is bonded to the resin handle 2 to form a two-layer structure.

[0021] Next, the shape of the second plate portion 8 when viewed from a different direction will be described. Fig. 4 is a view of the second plate portion 8 as viewed from the tip side of the handle portion 2, and is a front view of the mountain-shaped shape consisting of three protrusions 8a to 8c. As shown in Fig. 4, the shape of the protrusions 8a to 8c on the plate surface of the second plate portion 8 is curved with a curvature radius R3 of 5 mm or more and 15 mm or less. Preferably, the curvature radius R3 is around 10 mm. By providing such a curved shape, pain is unlikely to occur even when the protrusions 8a to 8c are pressed against the body and moved back and forth.

[0022] Among the three protrusions 8a to 8c, the central protrusion 8b protrudes slightly further than the protrusions 8a, 8c on either side of it. In other words, the central protrusion 8b has the highest peak. Furthermore, gentle valleys are formed between the central protrusion 8b and the protrusions 8a, 8c on either side of it.

[0023] Next, a diagram showing the shape of the connecting portion from the first plate portion 6 to the second plate portion 8 is shown. FIG. 5 shows the fascia massager 10 observed from the direction in which the three plate-like protrusions 8a to 8c are arranged (the same as the width direction of the handle portion 2), and the shape of the connecting portion between the first plate portion 6 and the second plate portion 8 is a curved shape with a curvature radius R2. Here, the plate thickness T of the first plate portion 6 and the second plate portion 8 can be 3 mm or more and 8 mm or less, and preferably, the plate thickness T is about 5 mm. The curvature radius R2 of the curved shape in FIG. 5 is preferably about 2 to 4 times the plate thickness T, and can be 5 mm or more and 20 mm or less. Preferably, the curvature radius R2 is 10 to 15 mm. By providing such a curved shape, the connecting portion from the first plate portion 6 to the second plate portion 8 becomes easily elastically deformed, and the force of pressing the plate-like protrusions 8a to 8c against the body is easily transmitted, and the operability of the fascia massager 10 is improved.

[0024] The tip shape of the plate-like protrusions 8a to 8c will be described with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the tip of the central protrusion 8b observed from the same direction as FIG. 5, and the shape of the tip of the central protrusion 8b is a curved shape with a curvature radius R4 of 1.6 mm or more and 5 mm or less. The cross-sectional view of the tip of the protrusion 8b also has the same shape as the enlarged view of FIG. 6. The curvature radius R4 is preferably larger than half the plate thickness T of the second plate portion 8. For example, if the plate thickness T is about 5 mm, the curvature radius R4 is preferably about 3 mm. The protrusions 8a and 8c on both sides can have a tip shape similar to that of the central protrusion 8b in FIG. 5. Such a tip shape makes it smooth to press the protrusions 8a to 8c against the body and move them back and forth.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 6, the center of the radius of curvature R4 of the central protrusion 8b may be located slightly offset toward the tip of the massager 10 from the center of the thickness of the second plate portion 8.

[0026] In addition, the handle portion 2 may have a two-layer structure of a resin plate and a metal (e.g., aluminum alloy) plate 14, as described in Figure 3, which ensures the strength of the handle portion 2 and makes it easier to transmit force to the contact portion 16.

[0027] <How to use> Next, a method of using the fascia massager 10 of this embodiment will be described. The upper diagram of FIG. 7 shows a state where the fascia massager 10 is used to massage the scalp, and the lower diagram of the same figure shows a state where the fascia massager 10 is used to massage the neck. In either case, the user holds the handle part 2 of the fascia massager 10 with one hand, presses the three protrusions 8a to 8c lightly against the skin (or scalp) of the body, and massages the fascia under the skin of each part by moving the handle part 2 back and forth in the longitudinal direction in small and slow steps without rubbing the skin. FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of the state where the skin (or scalp) around the contact part is wrinkled by the back and forth movement of the three protrusions 8a to 8c. In addition, by extending the index finger (or middle finger) of the hand holding the handle part 2 and applying force to the part marked in FIG. 3 with the tip of the extended finger, it becomes easier to adjust the pressing force of the three protrusions 8a to 8c.

[0028] <Effects of this embodiment> According to the configuration of the fascia massager 10 of this embodiment, first, the contact portion 4 is configured to have a first plate portion 6 formed by extending further from the tip of the handle portion 2, and a second plate portion 8 formed by bending 90 degrees from the tip of the first plate portion 6. In addition, the second plate portion 8 is formed in a curved shape that bulges in the opposite direction to the handle portion 2. Therefore, due to the three-dimensional structure consisting of the first plate portion 6 and the second plate portion 8, even though the three protrusions 8a to 8c of the second plate portion 8 are plate-shaped, it is possible to apply sufficient pressure to the body surface, and the massage action (i.e., lightly pressing on the skin while moving back and forth in small, slow motions without rubbing the skin) can be stabilized.

[0029] In addition, since the second plate portion 8 is formed in a curved shape, the action range of the three protrusions 8a to 8c is expanded, so that the fascia can be massaged efficiently. For example, FIG. 8 shows a schematic state in which the central protrusion 8b is lightly pressed against the skin and moved back and forth. The tip shape of the plate-like protrusion 8b in this embodiment is easy to bite into the skin just by pressing lightly, and it is easy to directly transmit stimulation to the subcutaneous muscle and fascial tissue. In this embodiment, since the second plate portion 8 is formed in a curved shape, the action points of the protrusions 8a and 8c on both sides are slightly shifted toward the handle portion 2 side (for example, about half the plate thickness) from the action point of the central protrusion 8b, so that the action points of the three protrusions 8a to 8c become the vertices of a triangle, and thus it can be understood that the action range of the three protrusions 8a to 8c is expanded.

[0030] In particular, since the plate-shaped handle 2 or the first plate 6 is formed with a mark 12 indicating the position where the index finger or middle finger of the gripping hand should be pressed with the fingertip, the user who performs the massage can easily adjust the force with which the protrusions 8a to 8c press the body surface with the fingertip of the extended finger using the mark 12 as a guide. This allows the force to be efficiently concentrated on the protrusions 8a to 8c that press the body surface, and the fascia located deeper than the skin surface can be directly shaken with appropriate pressure, resulting in a massage with a high fascia massage effect. For example, when massaging the scalp, the fascia massage effect improves blood circulation and relieves pain.

[0031] From the above, by using the fascia massager 10 of this embodiment, it becomes easier to loosen and soften fascia that has lost its elasticity, and adhesions between muscles and fascial tissue can be released, quickly relieving stiffness and pain.

[0032] Furthermore, since the configuration of the fascia massager 10 of this embodiment is very simple, it is easy to manufacture and anyone can easily perform a fascia massage at any time and place. EXAMPLES

[0033] Next, a test example for confirming the effect of relieving stiffness and pain by fascial massage using the fascial massage device 10 shown in Figs. 1 to 5 will be described. [Test example] In a test example, 27 subjects in their 20s to 80s performed a fascial massage of the neck skin and scalp every day using the method shown in Figure 7, and evaluated the degree of stiffness and pain in three categories, neck stiffness, neck pain, and scalp pain, using the VAS method before use, on the 7th day, and on the 14th day. A 100 mm straight line was prepared with "no symptoms" written on the left end and "severe symptoms" written on the right end, and marks were made on the 100 mm line at 10 mm intervals. The subjects marked one of the marks on the line according to the degree of sensation at the time of evaluation. The distance from the left end to the marked mark was read as an integer value from 0 to 10, and the change in the reading before use, on the 7th day, and on the 14th day was evaluated. Note that no evaluation is indicated by "-". The evaluation results for each subject are shown in the following table.

[0034] [Table 1]

[0035] Based on the evaluation results in Table 1, one-way analysis of variance was performed to compare the mean values ​​for the three conditions (before use, 7th day, and 14th day), and significant differences were found in all areas, including neck stiffness (p<0.0001), neck pain (p<0.0001), and scalp pain (p<0.001). Furthermore, Bonferroni multiple comparisons for each showed that there were significant differences in neck stiffness between before use and the 7th day, and between before use and the 14th day. There were significant differences in neck pain and scalp pain between before use and the 7th day. From the above evaluation and analysis results, it was found that a good and significant effect was obtained in all areas of neck stiffness, neck pain, and head pain (i.e., the effect of relieving stiffness and pain through fascial massage using fascial massager 10). [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 2 Handle 4 Contact Part 6 1st plate part 8 Second plate part 8a~8c protrusion 10. Fascia Massager 12 Marks 14 Metal Plate

Claims

1. A handle that can be held in one hand, a plate-shaped contact portion having three protrusions arranged at a tip of the handle portion; The contact portion has a first plate portion formed by extending further from the tip of the handle portion, and a second plate portion formed by bending 90 degrees from the tip of the first plate portion, and the three protrusions are plate-shaped protrusions formed at the tip of the second plate portion, and the fascia massager is used by moving the handle portion back and forth in the longitudinal direction while pressing these protrusions against the skin of the body, This fascia massage device is characterized in that, when viewed perpendicularly to a plane formed by the longitudinal direction of the handle portion and the direction in which the three protrusions are arranged, the second plate portion is formed into a curved shape that bulges in the opposite direction to the handle portion.

2. The fascia massager according to claim 1, This fascia massage device is characterized in that the handle portion is plate-shaped and has the same thickness as the plate-shaped contact portion, and a mark is formed on the surface of the tip portion of the handle portion or on the surface of the first plate portion to indicate the position that will receive the pressing force from the tip of the index finger or middle finger of the hand holding the handle portion when the index finger or middle finger is extended.

3. The fascia massager according to claim 1, The connection portion between the first plate portion and the second plate portion is bent with a curvature radius (R2) of 5 mm or more and 20 mm or less. A fascia massager characterized by the above.

4. The fascia massager according to claim 1, A fascia massage device, characterized in that the plate thickness (T) of the first plate portion and the second plate portion is 3 mm or more and 8 mm or less.

5. The fascia massager according to claim 1, A fascia massage device characterized in that the shape of the protrusion on the plate surface is a curved shape with a radius of curvature (R3) of 5 mm or more and 15 mm or less.

6. The fascia massager according to claim 1, Regarding the tip shape of the protrusion, the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the direction in which the three protrusions are arranged is a curved shape with a radius of curvature (R4) of 1.5 mm or more and 5 mm or less, and is greater than half the plate thickness (T) of the first plate portion and the second plate portion.

7. 7. The fascia massager according to claim 1, which is an integral piece made of resin, and the handle portion has a two-layer structure made of a resin plate and a metal plate.

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