Chair and lower limb exercise system

Abstract

To provide a chair having an improved health effect for mitigating a lumbago.SOLUTION: A chair 2 includes: two coxal bone support balloons 5 for respectively supporting two coxal bones; and a sacral bone support balloon 7 for supporting one of the sacral bone or a coccyx. The two coxal bone support balloons 5 are relatively rockable with respect to the sacral bone support balloon 7. By the configuration, movability of a sacroiliac joint between the two coxal bones and the sacral bone is improved, thereby to suppress mechanical stress of a lumber part joint where a load has been increased in a compensatory manner due to absence of the movability in the sacroiliac joint. Thus, a lumbago is mitigated.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a chair and a lower limb exercise system. [Background technology]

[0002] It is said that 97% of chronic lower back pain is caused by mechanical factors, and 80% is non-specific lower back pain that is difficult to definitively diagnose with diagnostic imaging and is not treated appropriately. Patients in this situation often visit orthopedic clinics, where they are prescribed painkillers and regular massages, and are scheduled for several months of exercise therapy rehabilitation. It is known that exercises that move the pelvis and improve mobility can relieve lower back pain if continued, but it takes several months for effects to be seen. When it is difficult to feel any effect, it is difficult to maintain motivation and continue to visit the hospital.

[0003] In this way, through rigorous testing, many cases of non-specific chronic lower back pain that were not identified through diagnostic imaging at many orthopedic clinics are known to fall into one of three categories: sacroiliac joint pain, myofascial pain, and facet joint pain. These three types of lower back pain are caused by mechanical stress on the lower back. One of the contributing factors is sitting for long periods of time. Sitting in the same position all day can cause pain in the lower back and buttocks and swelling in the lower limbs. Problems with fixed sitting postures have been pointed out, including muscle fatigue and circulatory disorders due to muscle contraction, nutritional disorders of the intervertebral disc (cartilage), and circulatory disorders due to pressure on the seat.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a chair with a rocking seat that tilts in response to the cyclical movement of the user's legs (e.g., pedaling). This creates a kinetic chain in which the movement of the user's feet is transmitted to the legs and lower back, resulting in a highly effective exercise. This makes it possible to realize a healthy chair that helps to alleviate lack of exercise even while sitting. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-005485 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] On the other hand, there is a growing need for chairs with enhanced health benefits that can alleviate lower back pain.

[0007] The object of the present disclosure is to provide a chair with enhanced health benefits that can relieve lower back pain. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The chair includes two first support parts that support two hip bones, respectively, and a second support part that supports either the sacrum or the coccyx. The two first support parts are configured to be able to swing relative to the second support part. This configuration improves the mobility of the sacroiliac joint between the two hip bones and the sacrum, thereby reducing the mechanical stress on the lumbar joints that would otherwise increase as a result of the lack of mobility in the sacroiliac joint, thereby alleviating lower back pain. The two first support parts may be configured to be able to swing relative to each other. With the above configuration, the relative swing of the two first support parts with respect to the second support part is promoted, thereby enhancing the effect of relieving lower back pain. The chair may further include a chair body and two elastic connecting parts that respectively connect the two first support parts to the chair body, and the two first support parts may be configured to be able to swing in the pitch direction and the roll direction by elastic deformation of the two elastic connecting parts. With the above configuration, the two first support parts can be swingable in the pitch direction and the roll direction with a simple configuration. The two first support parts or the second support part may be configured so that their positions can be adjusted according to the user's physique. With the above configuration, the positions of the two first support parts or the second support part can be adjusted according to the user's physique. A lower limb exercise system is provided that includes the chair described above and a lower limb exercise device that allows a user to exercise their lower limbs while seated in the chair. With the above configuration, a lower limb exercise system that is excellent at relieving lower back pain is realized. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present disclosure, the mobility of the sacroiliac joint between the two ilium and the sacrum is improved, thereby reducing the mechanical stress on the lumbar joints, which has been increasing compensatory due to the lack of mobility in the sacroiliac joint, thereby alleviating lower back pain. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a skeletal diagram of the pelvis. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a lower limb exercise system. [Figure 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a side view illustrating support of the pelvis by the chair. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a side view of the hip bone support balloon joint. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the invention according to the claims is not limited to the following embodiments. Furthermore, not all of the configurations described in the embodiments are necessarily essential means for solving the problems. For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings have been omitted and simplified as appropriate. In each drawing, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations are omitted as necessary.

[0012] First, the pelvic skeleton will be outlined with reference to Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, the pelvis is composed of two hip bones: the sacrum and the coccyx. Each hip bone is further composed of an ilium, a pubis, and an ischium. The joint connecting the ilium and the sacrum is called the sacroiliac joint.

[0013] FIG. 2 shows a side view of a lower limb exercise system 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the lower limb exercise system 1 includes a chair 2 and a pedaling exercise device 3. The pedaling exercise device 3 is a specific example of a lower limb exercise device. The pedaling exercise device 3 is an exercise device that allows a user seated in the chair 2 to perform pedaling exercise while remaining in a seated position. The pedaling exercise device 3 includes an exercise device main body 3a and a pair of pedals 3b supported by the exercise device main body 3a. Typically, the tips of the pair of pedals 3b are configured to describe an elliptical orbit in a side view, and the rear ends of the pair of pedals 3b are configured to move back and forth horizontally in a side view. The lower limb exercise device is not limited to the pedaling exercise device 3, and may also be a foot-tapping exercise device. The lower limb exercise device may be a lower limb exercise device in which the feet slide back and forth, or a thigh-raising exercise device in which the feet move up and down.

[0014] Fig. 3 shows a side view of the chair 2. Fig. 4 shows a front view of the chair 2. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the chair 2 includes a chair body 4, two hip bone support balloons 5, two hip bone support balloon connectors 6, a sacrum support balloon 7, a sacrum support balloon connector 8, and a backrest 9.

[0015] The chair body 4 is a frame structure that supports two hip bone support balloons 5, two hip bone support balloon connectors 6, a sacrum support balloon 7, a sacrum support balloon connector 8, and a backrest 9. The chair body 4 includes a main frame 10, a position adjustment mechanism 11, and two handrails 12.

[0016] The main frame 10 includes two lower frames 20 and two upper frames 21 that extend in the front-rear direction, and two front vertical frames 22 and two rear vertical frames 23 that extend vertically.

[0017] The two lower frames 20 are arranged spaced apart on the left and right. The two upper frames 21 are arranged spaced apart on the left and right. The two upper frames 21 are arranged above the two lower frames 20, respectively.

[0018] The two front vertical frames 22 respectively connect the front ends of the two lower frames 20 to the front ends of the two upper frames 21. The two rear vertical frames 23 respectively connect the rear ends of the two lower frames 20 to the rear ends of the two upper frames 21.

[0019] The two handrails 12 are supported by two front vertical frames 22 and two rear vertical frames 23 .

[0020] Here, front-rear and left-right are defined with respect to the trunk of the user seated on chair 2. Front-rear is a direction perpendicular to the coronal plane. Left-right is a direction perpendicular to the sagittal plane.

[0021] The position adjustment mechanism 11 is disposed between the two lower frames 20 and is supported by the two lower frames 20. The position adjustment mechanism 11 is configured to be able to adjust the positions of the two hip bone support balloons 5 in the front-rear and left-right directions. The position adjustment mechanism 11 includes a first position adjustment mechanism 11A for adjusting the position of one of the hip bone support balloons 5, and a second position adjustment mechanism 11B for adjusting the position of the other hip bone support balloon 5. Because the first position adjustment mechanism 11A and the second position adjustment mechanism 11B have similar configurations, the following description will focus on the first position adjustment mechanism 11A, and a description of the second position adjustment mechanism 11B will be omitted.

[0022] The first position adjustment mechanism 11A includes two left-right adjustment frames 30 extending laterally and a front-rear adjustment frame 31. The two left-right adjustment frames 30 are spaced apart in the front-rear direction. The two left-right adjustment frames 30 are disposed between and connected to the two lower frames 20. The front-rear adjustment frame 31 is disposed between and connected to the two left-right adjustment frames 30. The front-rear adjustment frame 31 is connected to the two left-right adjustment frames 30 so that its position can be adjusted left and right. One of the hip bone support balloons 5 is connected to the front-rear adjustment frame 31 via one of the hip bone support balloon connectors 6. This allows the left-right distance between the two hip bone support balloons 5 to be freely adjusted. Furthermore, each hip bone support balloon connector 6 is connected to the corresponding front-rear adjustment frame 31 so that its position can be adjusted in the front-rear direction. This allows the position of each hip bone support balloon 5 to be freely adjusted in the front-rear direction.

[0023] Each hip bone support balloon 5 is a specific example of a first support portion. Each hip bone support balloon 5 supports the user's corresponding hip bone. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, each hip bone support balloon 5 is positioned so as to face the ischium of the user's corresponding hip bone in the vertical direction. That is, each hip bone support balloon 5 has a bearing surface 5a facing upward. The hip bone support balloon 5 is typically made of polyvinyl chloride and exhibits a certain degree of cushioning. The first support portion may be made of a cushioning material such as urethane foam with an open-cell structure or a closed-cell structure, as long as it has a configuration that exhibits a certain degree of cushioning.

[0024] Fig. 6 shows an example of each hip bone support balloon connector 6. Each hip bone support balloon connector 6 is a specific example of an elastic connector. As shown in Fig. 6, each hip bone support balloon connector 6 connects the corresponding hip bone support balloon 5 to the front-to-rear adjustment frame 31 so that the corresponding hip bone support balloon 5 can freely swing in the roll direction and pitch direction.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 6(a), each hip bone support balloon connection portion 6 may be composed of, for example, a coil spring 40 and a universal joint 41. The universal joint 41 includes an upper link 41a extending from the hip bone support balloon 5, a lower link 41b extending from the front-to-rear adjustment frame 31, and a joint portion 41c connecting the upper link 41a and the lower link 41b. With this configuration, when the corresponding hip bone support balloon 5 oscillates in the roll direction or pitch direction, the coil spring 40 elastically deforms. The elastic restoring force of the coil spring 40 causes the corresponding hip bone support balloon 5 to elastically return to its neutral position (reference position). Note that the universal joint 41 may be omitted.

[0026] As shown in Figure 6(b), each hip bone support balloon connector 6 may be formed, for example, by a rubber column 42. With this configuration, when the corresponding hip bone support balloon 5 oscillates in the roll direction or pitch direction, the rubber column 42 is elastically deformed. Due to the elastic restoring force of the rubber column 42, the corresponding hip bone support balloon 5 elastically returns to its neutral position (reference position).

[0027] Returning to FIG. 3 , the sacrum support balloon 7 is a specific example of the second support portion. The sacrum support balloon 7 supports either the user's sacrum or coccyx. The sacrum support balloon 7 supports either the user's sacrum or coccyx so as to suppress movement of either the user's sacrum or coccyx. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5 , the sacrum support balloon 7 supports the user's coccyx from an obliquely downward direction so as to suppress movement of the user's coccyx. In other words, the contact surface 7a of the sacrum support balloon 7 that contacts the user faces obliquely upward. This is expected to have the effect of tilting the user's pelvis forward. However, instead of this, the sacrum support balloon 7 may support the user's sacrum from an obliquely upward direction so as to suppress movement of the user's sacrum. In this case, the contact surface 7a of the sacrum support balloon 7 that contacts the user faces horizontally or obliquely downward. Because the sacrum and coccyx are fixed to each other, suppressing movement of the sacrum suppresses movement of the coccyx, and suppressing movement of the coccyx suppresses movement of the sacrum. In this way, the sacrum support balloon 7 may directly restrict movement of the user's sacrum by facing the sacrum, or indirectly restrict movement of the sacrum by facing the coccyx. The sacrum support balloon 7 is typically made of polyvinyl chloride and provides a certain degree of cushioning. The second support portion may be made of any material that provides a certain degree of cushioning, and may be a cushioning material such as urethane foam with an open-cell structure or a closed-cell structure, instead of the sacrum support balloon 7.

[0028] A balloon is a flexible support member that can support a load by contacting the body surface and is deformable, and is made of an expandable and contractible member filled with air or liquid.

[0029] Returning to FIG. 3 , the sacrum support balloon connector 8 connects the sacrum support balloon 7 to the chair body 4. As an example, the sacrum support balloon connector 8, like the ilium support balloon connector 6, is composed of a coil spring and a universal joint. This allows the sacrum support balloon 7 to freely swing up and down and left and right relative to the chair body 4. However, as described above, the purpose of the sacrum support balloon 7 is to suppress movement of the user's sacrum, so a configuration in which the sacrum support balloon 7 can freely swing up and down and left and right relative to the chair body 4 is not essential. Rather, the sacrum support balloon 7 may be made difficult or impossible to swing relative to the chair body 4. In this case, the sacrum support balloon connector 8 may be made of a material that is difficult or impossible to elastically deform. This allows the sacrum support balloon 7 to be connected to the chair body 4 in a way that makes it difficult or impossible for the sacrum support balloon 7 to swing.

[0030] Here, the position and posture of the sacrum support balloon 7 may be adjustable according to the user's physique. In this embodiment, the sacrum support balloon connecting portion 8 is configured so that its position can be adjusted in the vertical direction relative to the chair body 4. In addition, the longitudinal elevation and depression angles of the sacrum support balloon connecting portion 8 may be adjustable. The length of the sacrum support balloon connecting portion 8 may also be adjustable. By making the position and posture of the sacrum support balloon 7 adjustable in this way, the position and posture of the sacrum support balloon 7 can be adjusted according to the user's physique. In addition, by making the position and posture of the sacrum support balloon 7 adjustable in this way, whether the user tilts their pelvis forward or backward while sitting in the chair 2, the sacrum support balloon 7 can stably support either the sacrum or coccyx of the user so as to suppress movement of either the sacrum or coccyx.

[0031] Continuing to refer to Figure 3, the backrest 9 is positioned above the sacral support balloon 7. The backrest 9 may be omitted.

[0032] With the above configuration, when a user sits on the chair 2 as shown in FIG. 2 , the ischial bones of the two iliac bones face the two hip bone support balloons 5 in the vertical direction, and the coccyx faces the sacrum support balloon 7 at an angle. That is, the weight of the user's trunk is supported by the two hip bone support balloons 5 and the sacrum support balloon 7. In this state, the two hip bone support balloons 5 are configured to be able to swing freely relative to the sacrum support balloon 7, thereby improving the mobility of the sacroiliac joint. More specifically, the sacrum support balloon 7 is configured to be difficult or unable to swing, and the two hip bone support balloons 5 are configured to be able to swing freely, thereby restricting movement of the sacrum of a user seated on the chair 2, while allowing the two iliac bones to move freely in the pitch and roll directions.

[0033] In this state, when the user performs pedaling exercise using pedaling exercise machine 3 as shown in Figure 2, the two iliac bones move alternately mainly in the pitch direction as both legs pedal. At this time, because the movement of the sacrum is suppressed, joint movement in the sacroiliac joints connecting the sacrum and each iliac bone is significantly promoted as shown in Figure 1, thereby improving the mobility of the sacroiliac joints. The above-mentioned chair 2 can be expected to have the following effects.

[0034] (1) First, when pedaling while sitting, the movement of the sacrum is suppressed by the sacrum support balloon 7, while the left and right hip bones rotate in the pitch direction during pedaling. By suppressing the movement of the sacrum and moving the hip bones, the mobility of the sacroiliac joint is improved. By restoring the mobility of the sacroiliac joint, the mechanical stress on the lumbar joints, which had been increasing compensatory to the lack of mobility in the sacroiliac joint, is reduced, and lower back pain is alleviated. (2) Secondly, Chair 2 is designed to support the body at three points: the left and right ischial bones and the sacrum. The support pillars move flexibly, so the pelvis does not stay in the same place. Therefore, the pelvis does not stay in the same position while sitting, and the muscles around the lower back are not used in the same place, so muscle load is reduced. The risk of developing lower back pain due to sitting in the same position for a long time is reduced. Since the pelvis moves, the muscles around the pelvis do not become stiff. (3) Unlike a normal fixed seat, the movement of the pelvis is not restricted, so the pelvis moves back and forth and side to side as the leg pedaling movement of the lower limbs occurs. The muscles work in conjunction with the movement of the lower limbs and the movement of the pelvis. By performing leg pedaling while sitting without realizing it, lower back pain is alleviated. Normally, patients need to visit a clinic regularly for continuous manual therapy, but with the lower limb exercise system 1 of this embodiment, it is possible to expect improvements in lower back pain through training at home.

[0035] The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above. The above embodiments have the following features.

[0036] The chair 2 includes two hip bone support balloons 5 (first support parts) that respectively support the two hip bones, and a sacrum support balloon 7 (second support part) that supports either the sacrum or the coccyx. The two hip bone support balloons 5 are configured to be able to swing relative to the sacrum support balloon 7. This configuration improves the mobility of the sacroiliac joint between the two hip bones and the sacrum, thereby reducing the mechanical stress on the lumbar joints that would otherwise be increased as a result of the lack of mobility in the sacroiliac joint, thereby alleviating lower back pain.

[0037] The two hip bone support balloons 5 are configured to be able to swing relative to each other. With the above configuration, the relative swing of the two hip bone support balloons 5 with respect to the sacrum support balloon 7 is promoted, further improving the mobility of the sacroiliac joint, thereby enhancing the effect of relieving lower back pain.

[0038] The chair 2 further includes a chair body 4 and two hip bone support balloon connectors 6 (elastic connectors) that respectively connect the two hip bone support balloons 5 to the chair body 4. The two hip bone support balloons 5 are configured to be able to swing in the pitch and roll directions due to elastic deformation of the two hip bone support balloon connectors 6. With the above configuration, the two hip bone support balloons 5 can swing in the pitch and roll directions with a simple configuration.

[0039] Furthermore, the positions of the two hip bone support balloons 5 or the sacrum support balloon 7 are configured to be adjustable according to the user's physique. With the above configuration, the positions of the two hip bone support balloons 5 or the sacrum support balloon 7 can be adjusted according to the user's physique, maximizing the effect of improving the mobility of the sacroiliac joint when using the chair 2.

[0040] The lower limb exercise system 1 also includes the chair 2 and a pedaling exercise device 3 as a lower limb exercise device with which the user exercises their legs while seated in the chair 2. With the above configuration, the kinetic chain associated with pedaling exercise causes the ilium to oscillate in the pitch direction, thereby efficiently improving the mobility of the sacroiliac joint.

[0041] The above embodiment can be modified, for example, as follows.

[0042] That is, a structure may be added to the chair 2 that holds down a portion of the center of the user's abdomen while the user is seated in the chair 2. This improves the sense of unity between the user's pelvis and the two ilium support balloons 5 and sacrum support balloon 7 of the chair 2, further enhancing the effect of improving the mobility of the sacroiliac joint. Note that the portion of the center of the abdomen refers to at least one of the navel, navel, and lower abdomen.

[0043] In the above embodiment, the two hip bone support balloons 5 are able to swing independently without interfering with each other. However, instead of this, the two hip bone support balloons 5 may be connected to each other so that the two hip bone support balloons 5 can pitch, roll, and yaw together. Even in this case, it is believed that the effect of improving the mobility of the sacroiliac joint can be obtained to some extent.

[0044] Furthermore, a hand-rowing exercise device may be used instead of or in addition to the foot-rowing exercise device 3. That is, the descending kinetic chain accompanying the hand-rowing exercise further promotes the movement of the two hip bones, thereby contributing to improving the mobility of the sacroiliac joint.

[0045] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the two handrails 12 are fixed in position. However, instead of this, the two handrails 12 may be moved alternately by an actuator (not shown). Even in this case, it is thought that the movement of the two hip bones will be further promoted by the descending kinetic chain. The two handrails 12 can be moved in the following ways: first, by moving the two handrails 12 so that they are positioned at different positions in the pitch direction; second, by moving the two handrails 12 alternately back and forth so that their front-to-back positions are different from each other; and third, by moving the two handrails 12 alternately up and down so that their height positions are different from each other.

[0046] The pedaling exercise device 3 may be one in which the user actively performs pedaling exercise, or one in which the user passively performs pedaling exercise. In the latter case, it is typically considered that the pair of pedals 3b of the pedaling exercise device 3 is driven by an actuator.

[0047] The backrest 9 may also be configured to rotate around an axis in the longitudinal direction of the backrest 9. In other words, the backrest 9 may be configured to yaw so that the user's right and left shoulders can alternately swing back and forth. This will enable the ascending kinetic chain associated with lower limb movement and the descending kinetic chain associated with upper limb movement to be realized at a higher level. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 1 Lower limb movement system 2 chairs 3. Pedal exercise equipment 3a Exercise equipment body 3b pedal 4 Chair body 5 Hip bone support balloon 5a Seat 6. Hip bone support balloon connection part 7. Sacral support balloon 7a Contact surface 8 Sacral support balloon connection 9 Backrest 10 Mainframe 11 Position adjustment mechanism 11A 1st position adjustment mechanism 11B Second position adjustment mechanism 12 Handrails 20 Lower Frame 21 Upper Frame 22 Front vertical frame 23 Rear vertical frame 30 Left and right adjustment frame 31 Front and rear adjustment frame 40 coil spring 41 Universal joint 41a Upper link 41b bottom link 41c Joint 42 Rubber Post

Claims

1. two first support portions that support two hip bones, respectively; a second support portion that supports either the sacrum or the coccyx; Including, The two first support portions are configured to be swingable relative to the second support portion. chair.

2. 2. The chair of claim 1, The two first support portions are configured to be swingable relative to each other. chair.

3. 2. The chair of claim 1, The chair body and two elastic connecting portions that respectively connect the two first support portions to the chair body; Further provided with The two first support portions are configured to be swingable in the pitch direction and the roll direction due to elastic deformation of the two elastic connecting portions. chair.

4. 2. The chair of claim 1, The two first support parts or the second support part are configured to be adjustable in position according to the user's physique. chair.

5. A chair according to claim 1; a lower limb exercise device that allows a user to exercise their lower limbs while sitting on the chair; Including, Lower limb motor system.

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