FIELD

This disclosure relates to lower extremity walkers and, in particular, to walkers for use with brace devices.

BACKGROUND

CAM walkers, that is, “Controlled Ankle Movement” walkers, are available in a variety of shapes and sizes. Among their purposes, such leg walkers immobilize the ankle joint, protect portions of the lower extremity, or otherwise treat or address a variety of conditions of the lower extremity.

While certain CAM walkers may include panels or portions to increase or decrease the leg height of such walkers, such designs suffer from various drawbacks and disadvantages. For example, adjustable-height walkers are often complex to manipulate or otherwise not suited to various lower extremity treatment protocols, such as when lower extremities are casted.

Devices which may be associated for use with rigid or semi-rigid casted lower extremities may also suffer from various drawbacks and disadvantages, including their limited application and disadvantageous offloading or other therapeutic characteristics.

Due to the limited adaptability and other drawbacks of CAM walkers of the current art, medical practitioners, hospitals, and other care centers are often required to “double up” on CAM walkers, or otherwise stock and make use of discreet CAM walkers for different treatment phases or lower extremity conditions, thereby causing excess inventory and wasteful inefficiency in the healthcare system in general, and to patients and care providers in particular.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to address the foregoing drawbacks and disadvantages with an improved leg walker, such as a Controlled-Ankle-Movement (CAM) walker.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one possible implementation of the present disclosure, a CAM walker, is configured so as to be suitable for use with another brace device on the lower extremity received in the CAM walker. As used herein, the terms CAM walker and walker may be used interchangeably and either of such terms shall broadly mean any number of boots, walkers, or other lower extremity footwear for controlling or limiting relative movements of a lower extremity, protecting or isolating such lower extremity, or achieving other therapeutic goals related to the lower extremity. The terms distal and proximal, anterior and posterior, medial and lateral, shall be in reference to a standing individual.

As such, the CAM walker may include a frame which controls ankle movement of the lower extremity. The frame, when worn, has a distal frame end at or near the foot and a proximal frame end generally above the ankle, each frame end adapted to operatively engage, whether directly or indirectly, portions of the foot and calf, respectively, when the frame is being worn. The CAM walker includes a collar assembly which is selectively fittable to, and manually separable from, the proximal end of the frame. As such, a medical practitioner, to address therapeutic needs, for example, may take actions with the CAM walker of this disclosure to fit the collar assembly to the proximal end of the frame; may forego attachment of the collar to the frame; or, if the collar were previously attached, may separate such collar from the frame, such as in response to other therapeutic needs.

The collar assembly has an engagement area which is oriented and configured so that, when it has been fitted to the frame, the engagement area engages, that is, contacts either directly or indirectly, the opposing surface of the other brace device which has been received in the CAM walker (and which brace device, in turn, is interposed between the collar assembly and the lower extremity received in the frame of the CAM walker).

In one variation of the implementations disclosed herein, the CAM walker frame has a foot bed with lateral and medial sides. The frame of the CAM walker, in turn, has corresponding lateral and medial frame elements which partially define a frame circumference and a corresponding frame volume, the circumference and volume being sufficient so that they are capable of receiving not only an ankle and corresponding lower extremity therein, but such ankle and lower extremity therein when wearing the other brace device received in the CAM walker.

The frame elements may include struts which extend upwardly from the foot bed on the lateral and medial sides and, in order to accommodate both the lower extremity and the surrounding brace device associated with the lower extremity, the struts are suitably transversely spaced to receive the other brace device therebetween, and yet also proximate to the opposing surface of the brace device to be engaged by portions of the collar assembly. In still further variations, the above-described collar assembly is selectively fittable to, and manually separable from, upper ends of the struts.

The collar assembly may be formed so as to include a pair of paddles of resilient polymeric material, along with at least one adjustable strap interconnecting such paddles. So, for example, the paddles each may have anterior and posterior side edges, and inner and outer surfaces, in which the inner surfaces have a pattern of inwardly extending protrusions formed thereon. The straps are positioned so that they extend between opposing edges of respective paddles and over outer surfaces of the paddles. In this way, when the straps are adjusted to decrease their circumference, a radially inward force is generated upon the paddles and as a result, the pattern of protrusions on the inner surface of the paddles engages the opposing surface of the brace device with suitable radially inwardly directed force.

The paddles may also be interconnected by means of a posterior brace member formed of resiliently flexible material and which extends between posterior edges of each of the pair of the paddles. In such configuration, the paddles are located on medial and lateral sides of the brace received in the frame of the CAM walker, with the posterior brace member extending and interconnecting the paddles from the posterior side.

In certain implementations, the engagement area defined by the collar assembly acts to extend the length of the lever arm formed during walking on the lower extremity, thereby reducing force on the planter surface of the foot when received in the CAM walker. Engagement of the collar assembly with the brace device may be suitably accomplished by having the engagement area of the collar assembly sized to engage at least 40% of the circumferential surface area of the opposing surface of the brace device.

In yet another potential implementation, the above-described engagement area may be comprised of inner surfaces of a pair of engagement members interconnected by at least one flexible strap, in which the engagement members each have an arcuate inner surface which extends in a concave arc of less than 45 degrees. The arcuate inner surface extends transversely to terminate an anterior and posterior longitudinal side edges. Extending from the respective anterior and posterior longitudinal side edges are engagement wings formed of resiliently flexible material. The resilient flexibility of the material forming the engagement wings is such that, when the strap is secured to the outside of the engagement members and their engagement wings, manual force not only transmits radial inward force from the strap to the engagement member, but also urges the engagement wings against the opposing surface of the brace device opposing the collar assembly.

The CAM walker and its associated collar assembly may be adapted so that the other brace receive in the CAM walker is in the form of a rigid or semi-rigid cast. In such implementation, the CAM walker has a frame with a circumference and volume to receive the cast therein.

Other objects, features and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent from consideration of the following detailed description and from the accompanying drawings, in which:

