Treadmill Deck With Lateral Camber For Postural Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional rehabilitation exercises often fail to effectively correct postural imbalances, leading to joint pain and uneven wear on shoes, as they do not adequately engage muscles that are underutilized during normal walking, and the effects can be difficult to identify and address early on.
Innovation Solution
A treadmill deck with adjustable angles and slopes is designed to support the treadmill belt, challenging the natural gait by engaging underutilized muscles, particularly in the feet, hips, and lower legs, promoting improved posture and reducing pain by exaggerating and correcting the walking motion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional rehabilitation exercises are used to correct postural imbalances, then treatment time is extended, but effectiveness is insufficient as they do not adequately engage underutilized muscles
Solution Approach 1:
The deck modifies the walking surface parameters by introducing longitudinal slopes and lateral camber, fundamentally changing how the foot interacts with the ground. This forces engagement of underutilized muscles in the feet, ankles, and lower legs that are not activated during normal flat-surface walking, thereby improving postural correction effectiveness in shorter time
Solution Approach 2:
The invention adds dimensional complexity to the walking surface by incorporating both longitudinal slopes (front-to-back variation) and lateral camber (side-to-side curvature). This two-dimensional surface variation creates multi-directional muscle engagement that conventional linear rehabilitation exercises cannot achieve, accelerating postural correction
2Reliability
If conventional flat treadmill decks are used, then ease of operation is maintained, but postural correction effectiveness is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The deck incorporates lateral camber, a curved surface profile across the width of the deck, which creates natural rolling motion of the hips and engagement of stabilizing muscles. This curved geometry provides postural correction benefits without requiring complex mechanical adjustment mechanisms, maintaining operational simplicity while enhancing effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The deck uses fixed geometric parameters (longitudinal slope angles and lateral camber profiles) that are built into the structure. These permanent geometric features provide consistent postural correction without requiring electronic controls, motors, or complex adjustment mechanisms, thereby avoiding increased device complexity
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a treadmill deck (10) for supporting at least part of a treadmill belt, the deck (10) including a foot strike area (12) disposed towards one end of the deck, and a foot take-off area (14) disposed towards another end of the deck, an upper surface of one of the areas (12, 14) including: a lateral inward or outward slope, which provides a lateral gradient across at least part of the area (12, 14), and an upper surface of the other of the areas (14, 12) including one of: a laterally horizontal surface or a lateral inward or outward slope, which provides a lateral gradient across at least part of that other area (14, 12).