An ankle brace for treating or preventing a high ankle sprain is disclosed. The ankle brace includes a body configured to be worn over an ankle. A tightening mechanism is attached to the body and configured to tighten the body around a wearer's lower leg to prevent distal ends of the tibia and fibula from separating. A torsion strap is attached to the body and configured to wrap from a fifth metatarsal to a medial malleolus to limit external rotation of the foot. The ankle brace can include lateral and medial straps for limiting eversion and inversion of the foot. The ankle brace can include heat moldable lateral and medial support plates.

In combination with a knee brace, the variable radius spring assembly of the present invention provides a full range knee orthotic with support to the leg muscles without compromising the range of motion and the patient's normal walk/gate. The assembly comprises upper and lower hinge pieces attached to upper and lower sections of the brace, a spring bracket, and an elongated spring element that extends downward from the upper hinge piece past a catch on the lower hinge piece. Two such assemblies are attached to a knee brace, one on the inner side and one on the outer side. As the lower leg, and the lower hinge piece, move rearward, the catch forces the spring element rearward and slides downward along the spring element. Consequently, the spring element has a non-linear response requiring approximately the same about of force to deflect the spring element throughout its range of rearward travel.

A brace for augmenting extension of a user's limb about a joint comprises an upper arm pivotably attached to a lower arm. At least one compression element is attached to at least one of the upper and lower arms, and a substantially inelastic tensioning element is affixed to the other of the upper and lower arms over at least one tensioning member. Applying a force to bend the brace to a flexed position loads the compression element, and upon removal of the flexing force the compression element applies a restoring force to urge the brace back to the extended position. The compression element may comprise a hydraulic tension spring comprising at least one cylinder having a sealed portion defining a liquid containment space, and a piston comprising a compressing portion having a smaller diameter than the cylinder and extending axially through a hydraulic seal into the liquid containment space. A guide for maintaining the piston oriented axially relative to the frame maintains piston alignment so that when the frame is fixed in place and tension is applied to the tensioning member, the compressing portion of the piston rod intrudes further into the liquid containment space, compressing the hydraulic fluid and loading the spring.

The invention relates to the field of medicine, specifically to neurology, and more specifically to devices for therapeutic gymnastics. A device consists of a combination of a loading system and an unloading system. Covers/pockets for pneumatic chambers of the unloading system are positioned longitudinally, in pairs and continuously, along a front surface and a rear surface of a load-bearing membrane. Support elements of a knee brace, made of two front portions and of two rear portions, interconnected by means of straps, are positioned in five sub-levels, wherein the two front portions of the brace are connected at the centers thereof by means of a linking component which is provided with an additional cushioning layer and with a half-ring in the center thereof, said half-ring serving for securing and changing the trajectories of elastic tensile components. A foot brace is removable and contains one longitudinal strap under the foot and three transverse straps which are connected to the longitudinal strap.

In at least some aspects, the present concepts include a method for configuring an assistive flexible suit including the acts of outfitting a person with an assistive flexible suit, monitoring an output of at least one sensor of the assistive flexible suit as the person moves in a first controlled movement environment, identifying at least one predefined gait event using the output of the at least one sensor, adjusting an actuation profile of the at least one actuator and continuing to perform the acts of monitoring, identifying and adjusting until an actuation profile of the at least one actuator generates a beneficial moment about the at least one joint to promote an improvement in gait. The at least one controller is then set to implement the actuation profile.

An assistive ankle foot orthosis is described. The AFO has a tubular vertical member arranged laterally to a user's limb. The member carries a rotational bearing and a rotational element such as a pulley. The pulley is connected to a footplate. The footplate provides joint movement assistance or resistance to the user upon rotation of the pulley. The pulley is coupled to one or more springs that provide counter-rotational resistance to pulley movement, thereby storing, and then returning, rotational force during certain foot movements. The spring can include a leaf spring arranged inside the member, the stiffness of which can be manually, automatically or dynamically adjusted by movement of the device.

An orthopedic device for supporting a lower back of a user includes a mechanical energy store, a pelvic element, an upper body element with a first force transmission element and an upper leg element with a second force transmission element. The upper leg element is arranged on the pelvic element such that it can be swivelled about a first swivel axis, the upper body element is movably arranged relative to the pelvic element, the first force transmission element can be engaged and disengaged with the second force transmission element by moving the upper body element relative to the pelvic element, and the mechanical energy store can be charged and discharged by swivelling the upper leg element relative to the upper body element when the first force transmission element is engaged with the second force transmission element.

A knee brace is provided for monitoring the knee. The knee brace includes a dock for removably receiving a control module. The control module is electrically coupled with the dock when the control module is received in the dock. The knee brace includes a sensor for measuring a physiological state of the wearer. The sensor is electrically coupled to the control module by way of the first conductive path when the control module is received in the dock.

An apparatus includes a brace assembly and a force-application assembly. The brace assembly includes a muscle-origin portion configured to connect proximate to a muscle origin of a muscle. The brace assembly also includes a muscle-insertion portion configured to connect proximate to a muscle insertion of the muscle. The force-application assembly is configured to connect to the muscle-origin portion and the muscle-insertion portion. The force-application assembly is also configured to extend between the muscle-origin portion and the muscle-insertion portion once coupled to do just so.

A physical therapy device includes a brace to secure around an appendage of a person; a first locking device connected to a portion of the brace via a rivet joint, the first locking device having a gear; a pawl positioned to engage with the gear; a spring connected to the pawl to provide tension to the pawl; and a lock to release the pawl from the toothed gear; the first locking device is positioned next to a joint of the appendage when worn; the first locking device allows for single direction movement of the joint; and the first locking device is to release the joint via the lock.